Why Did Global Warming Tip?

Chris Mooney writes a thoughtful, two-part piece that digs into just why and how global warming got its groove.

While Gore's passion on the topic certainly played a key role, Mooney notes that a variety of factors led to global warming's current position on everyone's hot list. (Forgive me.)

Mooney points to data compiled by Matthew Nisbet, a professor at the School of Communication at American University. Nisbet analyzed coverage in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and used the Lexis-Nexis database to examine how much attention these two outlets have paid to global warming over more than two decades. His analysis shows that political events (such as the 1997 Kyoto Protocol) drove spikes. But 2005 saw a big jump in interest, which Nisbet attributes to a variety of factors: "the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, a record temperature year globally, and most of all, Hurricane Katrina." Katrina, along with Gore, turn out to be our global warming superstars.

Mooney's article is an interesting study in the multiple factors that can drive an issue to the tipping point and how the subtle shifts in framing an issue can influence media coverage, and hence the public.

Clean Tech Revolution

I remember working with Clint Wilder years ago, when he was writing for Computerworld and then later for Corporate Computing. Somewhere along the way, I lost track of him. Apparently (judging from his bio) he made the smart move to writing about clean technologies for a firm called Clean Edge, "a research and publishing firm helping companies, investors, and governments understand and profit from clean technologies."

He's recently authored a book (above) about the billions being invested in clean technologies, with the thesis that it's now solidly in the business mainstream. The book is getting some good buzz. Read the BusinessWeek review here and other reviews and background at the book's website.

Nuvera Relocates and Expands in Mass.

Nuvera is on the move. The company announced this week that it will move its headquarters, currently located in Cambridge, to Billerica, Mass., by the end of the week.

Nuvera has extensively renovated its new home on Concord Road, which features over 110,000 square feet - a mix of manufacturing space, R&D labs and offices.

The move comes in support of Nuvera's increase in production, training and customer service in anticipation of its commercial release of three products in 2008, according to the company.

"Nuvera is proud to be an alternative energy company based in Massachusetts. This move shows both the investment we have made in ensuring our progress towards commercialization, along with the support the Commonwealth has provided us, allowing us to expand here in the state. Our new facility makes it possible for us to substantially increase the focus on downstream activities to assure a quality introduction of our products in 2008" said Roberto Cordaro, President and CEO of Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc.

Economics of Renewable Energy

Daniel Gross presents a thoughtful piece on alternative energy in yesterday's New York Times. The article explores the economics and complex relationship between (sometimes subsidized) renewable energy projects versus traditional energy production. Bush has called for the nation to replace 20% of gasoline with ethanol in 10 years.

The government talk is being backed by action and policy. The federal government offers a 51-cent-a-gallon tax credit to ethanol producers and maintains a 54-cent-a-gallon tariff on ethanol imported from Brazil. More than 20 states have so-called renewable portfolio standards, which mandate that utilities derive a fixed percentage of their power from renewable sources.

The Renewable Fuels Association says that the 85 ethanol projects now under construction would more than double the existing capacity of six billion gallons a year by the end of 2008.

The American Petroleum Institute feels it would be preferable to leave it all to market forces. Gross detail how government investment in new technologies has worked in the past, and can in the future.

MIT Energy Competition - Ignite Clean Energy!

RSI Silicon, a materials company that has developed a low-cost process for making solar-grade silicon, walked away the big winner at last night's Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition. RSI Silicon won the grand prize -- $25,000 in cash plus other goodies (rent, legal services) for a total prize value of $111,000. The company also won The Peoples' Choice award, which attendees at yesterday's event could vote on.

Other winners included:

• Second place, student -- Bagazo, which aims to develop self-sustaining cooking fuel generation, using agricultural waste, for developing countries
• Second place, professional -- Fox2 Technologies, which is developing new sensor technology for airplane and trucking operators that improves fuel efficiency by more than 5 percent, while also reducing carbon emissions.
• Third place, student -- C3 BioEnergy, which is working on manufacturing renewable propane and a hydrogen byproduct from biomass feedstocks
• Third place, professional -- GreenRay, which is developing a plug-and-play, solar-electric system for the simple installation of solar power to common residences.

(Thanks to Mass High Tech for the descriptions of these companies; many of them don't yet have websites.)

Evergreen Solar to Build $150M Facility in Mass.

Last week, Evergreen Solar (Marboro, Mass.) announced that its Board of Directors has approved construction of a new $150 million facility. The new operation will increase the firm’s production capacity in Massachusetts by 70 MW and double its employee base in the state to more than 600 employees.

Evergreen Solar is known for its proprietary String Ribbon™ wafer technology for solar power. According to the company, annual sales have increased fourfold to approximately $100 million through a joint venture in Europe.

The company also announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. Total worldwide sales of String Ribbon product were $40.2 million in the first quarter, including $27.6 million of sales from EverQ, Evergreen Solar’s joint venture with Q-Cells A.G. and Renewable Energy Corporation ASA.

Just yesterday, the company announced a new corporate re-branding program, a new logo and a new tag line: “Think Beyond." The new logo seems to suggest a string ribbon look, playing on the company's trademarked technology descriptor. It replaced Evergreen's original identity, featuring an evergreen tree and the sun.

Toro Workman Powered by Nuvera Fuel Cells

Last week, Cambridge-based Nuvera announced that Toro (NYSE: TTC), the $1.8 billion vendor of "outdoor beautification products," has selected Nuvera's PowerFlow™ PFV-5 fuel cell system for integration into a Toro® Workman® utility vehicle. (Think golf courses, professional landscaping or consumers who are way too obsessed about their really big yards.)

The Nuvera-powered Workman is being developed under a contract between Toro and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to create the next generation of turf maintenance equipment powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The vehicle will be demonstrated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) as part of their “Green Parks Program.” You might catch a glimpse of these vehicles if your vacation travels take you to Niagara Falls State Park or Beaver Island State Park and Golf Course -- two parks where they are slated for use.

An aside: Toro's "About Us" descriptor presents its products in a green light: "From water-conserving irrigation products and Earth-friendly tools to convenient ways to preserve and enhance your surroundings, we're committed to you and your environment."

Protonex Snaps Up Mesoscopic Devices

Protonex, a fuel cell system pioneer with a heavy focus on the military sector, has entered into an agreement to acquire Mesoscopic Devices, an industry leader in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology, fuel reforming and desulfurization systems for a total consideration of $12.4 million.

Protonex cites a number of synergies resulting from the deal. The SOFC technologies will enable Protonex fuel cell systems to take advantage of multiple fuels, including propane, gasoline, diesel and JP8.

Mesoscopic Devices' SOFC technology complements that of Protonex, which are based on high-performance proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology. Protonex believes that both technologies have advantages and applications.

This deal comes on the heels of Protonex $3.5 million contract (March 16) with the US Army Research Office to develop a 250-watt portable fuel cell power source that is significantly smaller, lighter, quieter and more efficient than alternative battery or generator systems. This brings the total value of the company's secured government development or joint development contracts to more than $11 million.

General Compression Raises $5 Million

Attleboro Mass.-based General Compression, a wind power company, announced an initial $5 million round. Investors include Chestnut Capital and Booner Capital. The company plans to use the money to build out the team and execute on its plan.

General Compression aims to make wind energy available on demand. The company markets a Dispatchable Wind Turbine System, which has three components: a compressed air wind turbine, a pipeline network that collects and stores compressed air, and a power plant of expanders and generators. By shifting the time when power is sold, the wind project can sell power on peak at a higher price, be more compatible with the needs of the grid, and become eligible for capacity payments. According to the company, this solution will double the profitability of wind farms.

Energy East Files for Public Offering

Energy East [NYSE: EAS] today announced it will seek to issue up to 10 million common shares generating gross proceeds of approximately $240 million. The company is a super regional energy services and delivery company, whose customer base has almost tripled in three years, says the company website.

According to today's press release, Energy East plans to invest over $3 billion through 2011. Major planned investments include:

• $500 million for advanced metering infrastructure in New York and Maine, providing customers with pricing info throughout the day, promoting conservation and improving operational efficiencies
• $500 million in transmission investments, predominately in maine, which will improve electric grid reliability and promote renewable generation
• $500 million for the repowering the Russell Station power plant using clean coal technologies

The company estimates that these efficiency investments could result in CO2 reductions of close to 1 million tons annually, the equivalent of taking 175,000 cars off the road.

Catamount Energy Corp. Buys Fuel Cell Technology

Rutland, Vermont-based Catamount Energy Corp., a wind energy company, has acquired 50% of EPG Fuel Cell, LLC, a developer of power projects based on fuel cell technologies. EPG Fuel Cell is a subsidiary of Elemental Power Group, a New York-based renewable energy development company.

EPG Fuel Cell will be run as a joint venture between its two owners, with plans to expand its development efforts across the U.S. in states that have electricity constrained grids in urban environments that can particularly benefit from the ultra-clean generation that fuel cell projects enable.

Earthanol - Waste to Ethanol Venture - Gets a Round from @Ventures

@Ventures, the venture capital business of CMGI, Inc., announced today that it has made an investment in Earthanol, Inc. (You've gotta love the name.) According to the company's temporary website, the company's strategy is to develop, build and operate plants that use waste streams from industry, municipalities and agriculture as the feedstock to produce clean-burning ethanol. @Ventures chipped in $2 million. The other investors were Nth Power, Sail Venture Partners, and Calvert Funds and the total round was $7.1 million. Earthanol refers to these firms as clean-energy focused VC investors.

From the press release: "In order to fully realize the promise of biofuels, it is critical that the industry move beyond corn-based ethanol", said Matt Horton, a Principal with @Ventures. "By using waste materials as a feedstock for biofuels production, Earthanol avoids many of the costs and limitations associated with corn-based ethanol."

The site has a helpful explanations of the two methods of producing ethanol: fermentation and synthetic gas catalysis. It also reports that the Earthanol team, led by Larry Folks (CEO and CFO), Scott Noll and Jeff Lee have extensive experience in the development and operation of energy projects, including eight biomass-based power projects in North America, and will focus on developing innovative projects that employ commercially practicable and financeable technologies to convert waste feedstocks to clean-burning ethanol.

Car Talk Does Global Warming

Even Car Talk is going green. Car Talk has posted a fun and educational interview with Adam Stein, VP of marketing for TerraPass, and Tom Boucher, president and CEO of NativeEnergy.

TerraPass' mission is to develop and market economically viable products that combat global warming by mitigating human-made environmental emissions. I've written a bunch about NativeEnergy, which is a noted provider of carbon offsets.

(Thanks to the folks at autobloggreen.com for flagging this interview.)

An excerpt:

Car Talk: What does it mean to offset the carbon dioxide that's emitted by your car?

Tom: Think of offsetting as a counterbalance. You're simply taking an extra step to reduce your impact on the environment. Assuming you need to drive, you can't stop your car from emitting carbon dioxide. But, you can fund the construction of new, renewable energy projects that will displace carbon emissions from other sources, like coal burning electricity plants. That's the offset, which is done on your behalf.

Adam: You can sponsor a verified, measurable reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by, for example, funding clean energy projects such as wind farms, methane digesters or efficiency projects. At first it may sound like a shell game, but it really works. And it's surprisingly cheap.


Car Talk: But, just to be upfront, you guys are making money by being a broker. You're getting people to donate to clean energy, and taking a piece off the top, right?

Adam: Yes, there's nothing mysterious about it. We're a retailer. We buy wholesale, sell to customers, and add enough margin to keep our web servers running. Solar panel makers, wind farm developers, biodiesel manufacturers — all are for-profit enterprises. We think it's a good thing when companies can sustain themselves by providing an environmental service. Climate change is a long-term problem, and we hope to be around for the long term as well.

Tom: Business is a very powerful tool, and to solve the climate crisis we need every tool at our disposal. We imagine a world where everyone does well by doing good.

Snow Bowl Ski Area Goes Green

Those folks at NativeEnergy have gotten to be really popular lately. They pop up in my Google Alerts daily with yet another outfit that has bought their carbon offsets. The roster includes such diverse organizations as Salesforce.com and the Global Green pre-Oscar party. Now the Snow Bowl, a ski area run by Middlebury College, has gone green, according to our very own Boston Globe:

Middlebury College, which owns and operates the Snow Bowl, is paying to offset every molecule of carbon dioxide -- the primary "greenhouse gas" that contributes to global warming -- emitted from groomers, lift operations, base lodge heating, off-site electric generation used to power lights and appliances, and even the carbon dioxide emitted by the cars skiers and snowboarders use to drive there. The college's alpine and cross-country ski teams are also on board, paying to offset their air and car travel to and from training and races, as well as the electricity used in the coaches' offices.

The idea was the brainchild of Thomas Hand, a Middlebury graduate, who now works for NativeEnergy, a Native American-owned company headquartered in Charlotte, Vermont. NativeEnergy funds Native American, farmer-owned and community-based renewable energy projects. Organizations buy carbon offsets from NativeEnergy, which in turn invests in wind farms, methane projects and the like.

NativeEnergy was just named to Fast Company's Fast 50, which highlights "50 profit-driven solutions for what ails the planet." You can read their write-up here.

Energy Competition: Two-Minute Video Pitch

I love Guy Kawasaki's blog - great ideas, crisply written. Today, he highlights Entrepreneurship Week USA from February 23rd to March 3rd, launched by the Kauffman Foundation.

He flags this cool energy pitch competition for 18-25 year olds. To enter, submit a two-minute video pitch that answers this question:

What product or service would you offer to help reduce America’s dependency on oil and other fossil fuels?

Deadline: February 28

The Grand Prize is a Panasonic Business Rugged Toughbook and a color inkjet printer. The Peer Prize is a 30GB Video iPod (known as a FatPod in my house).

You can upload your video here. Happy digitizing.

World Wildlife Fund: More Green Weddings

Not to be outdone by the folks at NativeEnergy and Protovert Magazine, which you can read about here, the World Wildlife Federation launched its own green weddings website on Valentine's Day as well. This site includes a registry, which seemed an obvious component that was missing at the NativeEnergy site.

The WWF press release opens with this cute lede:

Bridal gowns may still be white, but weddings are turning green according to World Wildlife Fund, who today unveils its first-ever green weddings website for engaged couples looking to make their big day not only memorable, but also environmentally friendly.

At the wedding registry, you can do the following useful stuff:

• Guests can make charitable contributions to WWF in the couple's name.
• Couples can make a donation in lieu of favors and download beautiful table tents to inform guests.
• Couples can plan an eco-honeymoon through WWF's Travel Partners.
• Couples can get helpful tips and information about how to have an eco-friendly wedding.

Exxon Mobil CEO Speaks at CERAWeek

Earlier this week, the CEO of Exxon Mobil, the world's largest publicly traded company, warned at an industry conference that "governments should not rush into policies that could damage the global economy in order to limit carbon emissions," according to the New York Times.

The Exxon Mobil chief, Rex W. Tillerson, was speaking at CERAWeek, which is being run this week in Houston by Cambridge Energy Research Associates. You can check out CERA Chairman Daniel Yergin's interview wtih Tillerson at CERA's site.

The Times reporters interpreted Tillerson's stance as a bit of a softening of Exxon Mobil's previously hard-line position, since he acknowleged that global warming may be leading to climate change. The article reported:

“The risks to society and ecosystems from climate change could prove to be significant,” Mr. Tillerson said. “So, despite the uncertainties, it is prudent to develop and implement sensible strategies that address these risks.”

Carbon Offsets: The Perfect Eco-Wedding Gift!

At first, I thought this was a Valentine's Day spoof, but it's not. The well-regarded Native American energy company, NativeEnergy, has teamed up with Protovert, "the first and only magazine for eco-savvy brides and grooms."

NativeEnergy helps build Native American, farmer-owned, community-based renewable energy projects that aim to create social, economic and environmental benefits. (Most of the projects are wind based.) The company is working with Salesforce.com on its recently announced carbon neutral initiative, along with lots of other organizations such as Coca-Cola, Ben & Jerry's, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Timberland and Stonyfield Farm.

Back to our eco-wedding planning. According to the press release:

"Weddings are a special way to announce a lifetime commitment," says Portovert Magazine's editorial director, Meghan Meyers. "But the truth is, even the most eco-savvy couple will create carbon emissions on their wedding day."

At a special section of the NativeEnergy website, you can plug the data from your wedding into a calculator to see the total global warming impact from the projected energy consumption. If you can't afford to be 100% carbon neutral, you can aim for a percentage, or offset the reception or honeymoon, the site suggests. At the end of the process, you can click a button to buy the appropriate level of offsets.

Next year, they need to team up with weddingchannel.com, so that the bride and groom can add Carbon Offsets (no gift wrap needed) to their registry.

WSJ: The New Math of Alternative Energy

Today's Wall Street Journal devotes an entire supplement to energy, which features a front page article, "The New Math of Alternative Energy." The story opens with this promising perspective:

The numbers are starting to look promising.

For years, the big criticism of alternative energy was cost: It was too expensive compared with energy based on traditional fuels like coal and natural gas. <...>

Now the equation is showing significant signs of change. Costs are falling for some alternative-energy sources, driven by new technology and renewed development interest.

And a boatload of VC funding is helping things along, we might add.

The supplement includes an article on Hal Harvey, the environment program director at the flush William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. (They can afford better photos of their staff, but I digress.) Regarding his investment strategy, the article explains:

...he looks for "pinch points" likely to promote technologies that will deliver the most "tons of carbon avoided per philanthropic dollar invested." <...>

"Two things matter: Coal and cars. Two countries matter: China and the U.S.," he says... "In that little matrix, there's only a handful of policies that are going to make any damn difference."

(For Harvey's take on Schwarzenegger's new energy proposals, see this NYT article.)

The increased receptiveness to alternative energy comes in the nick of time. The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) puts to rest any doubts about the severity of the issue, as the New York Times headline so clearly declares: "Science Panel Calls Global Warming 'Unequivocal.'" This is pretty sensational stuff for the Gray Lady:

In a grim and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, the leading international network of climate scientists has concluded for the first time that global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activity is the main driver, “very likely” causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950.

They said the world was in for centuries of climbing temperatures, rising seas and shifting weather patterns — unavoidable results of the buildup of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.

Two days after the Times story appeared, CNNMoney.com ran a story about memos sent to scientists by The American Enterprise Institute offering them up to $10,000 to critique findings in the IPCC report. According to the article, AEI is funded in part by Exxon Mobil (and its retired chairman sits on its board of trustees).

"The purpose of this project is to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the IPCC process, especially as it bears on potential policy responses to climate change," said the memo, which was sent to a professor at Texas A&M University.

"We are hoping to sponsor a paper...that thoughtfully explores the limitations of climate model [forecasting] outputs as they pertain to the development of climate policy..."

The article reports that:

A recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists said Exxon spent $16 million between 1998 and 2005 funding 43 "organizations that seek to confuse the public on global warming science."

Closing the loop here for now, it should come as no surprise that the Union of Concerned Scientists announced that an investigative report conducted with the Government Accountability Project (GAP) "has uncovered new evidence of widespread political interference in federal climate science."

"The new evidence shows that political interference in climate science is no longer a series of isolated incidents but a system-wide epidemic," said Dr. Francesca Grifo, Director of the UCS Scientific Integrity Program. "Tailoring scientific fact for political purposes has become a problem across many federal science agencies."

Two Energy Funding Competitions

Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) Competition

The MIT Enterprise Forum Kick Off event for this year's Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition will be held tonight at the Stata Center on campus. You can get more information here. One of the speakers is Massachusetts' new Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, Ian Bowles.

SEED 2007 - Sustainable Energy Economic Development Initiative

The Mass Technology Collaborative has announced its 2007 competition, which provides flexible working capital of up to $500,000 per winning company for a 12-month period. The funding instrument is a convertible load. Get the details here.

NYT: Clean Tech Leads Silicon Valley Renaissance

The New York Times today has a great article outlining how energy/clean tech investment is leading a rebound in Silicon Valley:

In Silicon Valley, investment in clean technology — from alternative energy products, like solar panels and hybrid cars, to the use of nanotechnology to solve environmental problems — went from $34 million in the first quarter of 2006 to $290 million in the third quarter, according to an annual report released Sunday by Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, a research organization in San Jose, Calif.

And this...

Stephen Levy, an economist with the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, said the growing demand for clean technologies might well make this emerging boom cycle a lasting trend. Developments on the legislative front may help stimulate that growth. In September, California lawmakers set a goal of cutting the state’s greenhouse emissions 25 percent by 2020.

Energy Investment Goes Up, Up, Up

The numbers keep coming. According to a report issued last week by IDC's Energy Insights:

Venture capital (VC) investment in the energy industry through 3Q06 was triple the level of investment in all of 2005, making the energy sector the third-largest VC investment category after biotech and software. Leading VC firms from outside the energy sector are starting to make significant investments in "clean tech."

This echos the December report from the well-regarded VentureOne/Ernst & Young team, which found that "$761.4million has been invested in clean technology on a worldwide basis so far this year, up 50% from $504.1million invested after the first three quarters of 2005."

In the U.S. alone, according to this report, $585.6 million was invested in 60 companies focused on clean tech through Q3 2006, 30% more than was invested in all of 2005.

The Energy Insights report says "Climate change concerns top the list as the key prediction to watch for 2007..."

No surprises there.

Green Agencies Eschew Greenwashing

The New York Times ran an article last week about green ad agencies that must have the folks at Dwell Creative walking on air. The article, "How Looking Green is Looking Good," prominently features this ad from Dwell, which is part of an ad series to promote a recycling program in Maine.

The article profiles a number of boutique firms such as Dwell, Green Team and Big Think Studios (sporting the tagline, "Advertising and design for social change"), which are focused on companies with green products, non profits and foundations. The big agencies haven't totally missed the boat, as BBDO handles GE's Ecoimagination campaign.

These agenices are on the watch for firms that are simply looking to greenwash their products -- "putting a positive public image to putatively environmentally unsound practices."

The folks who have founded these green agencies are not your typical ad guys; they've gone green for a reason:

Leaders of agencies in the green niche say that is because they care as much about the mission as the money. “We want our advertising to inspire true change,” said Mr. Rooks, who said Dwell had rejected assignments that smacked of greenwashing.