Solar Power Heats Up Even As The Economy Stays Cool

sunfab11-lo-res

Applied SunFab Solar Module Production Line Well it certainly looks like the sun is paving the way for our new energy economy. According to the Worldwatch institute, an environmental research organization based in Washington D.C., global solar photovoltaic (PV) power installations jumped from 9,000 megawatts in 2007 to nearly 15,000 MW in 2008, an increase [...]

National Service: What Is It? Do We Need It?

americorp

If you have every put your heart into a movement, you know that anyone who is coerced becomes a drag. Unfortunately, the national service issue is surrounded by the others-should-want-to-do-it-for-their-own-good myth.

Growing Plastic: A New Use for Biomass

A field of miscanthus, one of several crops grown to produce biomass

In the constant push for ever newer and greener technology and energy, we sometimes forget that it is often both simpler and cheaper to revisit old techniques in new ways. And that’s exactly what a group of researchers in California has done. By combining several old and well understood chemical techniques and reactions, they have [...]

Inspired Economist: Pick of the Week

This column highlights the top economic stories of the week. Shell has announced that a new service station in Ottawa, Ontario will quietly begin selling cellulosic ethanol blended into regular gasoline. The biofuel is made locally from wheat straw, and is the first time cellulosic ethanol has been made publicly available. More on this story [...]

Cell phones: a platform for social innovation in emerging markets

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Smart social entrepreneurs and their like-minded investors would be smart to think about the breadth of opportunities that a cell phone creates for citizens of emerging markets.