There have been many disasters in recent years: Tsunamis, forest fires, floods, hurricanes, but the I was surpried at how much the earthquake in Haiti has generated a flurry of fund raising activities.

I came across a blog post which talks about various technologies that can be used in the relief efforts as well as the reconstruction of Haiti.

The post also talks about Social Media and how it contributes tothe effort.

http://carbonoutreach.blogspot.com/2010/01/five-ways-haiti-can-use-solar-power-for.html

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• Pleasantville The other day, I watched the movie "Pleasantville" (1998, starring Tobey McGuire). Briefly, the story revolves around two 1990's teenagers being "magically" transposed in a 1950's sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that complacent world. To me, this film shows two things very well: 1) The implications of......
• Global warming, Copenhagen, and risk management The Copenhagen Summit is happening right now. In view of the controversy over whether or not human activity is responsible for global warming, or if they're is in fact a global warming, both controversies having been raised by scare tactics orchestrated the conservatives, I thought it would be a good......
• Green Portfolio A mutual funds company, Global mutual fund, has a "green" portfolio which it calls: "Portfolio 21". The corporation newly announced its top 10 companies. I was somewhat surprised to see companies listed which I never thought of as "green". For instance, the Autodesk corporation.  On the other hand, since 3D......

• Liberty Bomber Today The BBC have a little video piece today about a B17 Flying Fortress, The Liberty Belle, which is visiting the UK, today.  Within the piece is a link which I urge people to follow through to this page, http://www.libertyfoundation.org/history-photos.html Please watch all the pictures through in the slide-show.  Anyone with......
• Communist Pillar #6 - The (Un) Fairness Doctrine Sunday Paper - February 15th, 2009 "We can't expect the American people to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism until they wake up one day to find that they have Communism." Nikita Kruschev Centralization of the means......
• Social Media Case Study on GoGirl I went to my first Social Media Breakfast last week. The presentation by Risdall Online Marketing Group was impressive. So impressive I took 2 1/2 pages of notes. They had one tough assignment. Selling what, for want of a better term, is a feminine urinary device. The device was created......

A mutual funds company, Global mutual fund, has a “green” portfolio which it calls: “Portfolio 21″.

The corporation newly announced its top 10 companies. I was somewhat surprised to see companies listed which I never thought of as “green”.

For instance, the Autodesk corporation.  On the other hand, since 3D CAD cuts down the use of paper, that would make it a candidate. But Autodesk goes further, it has recently partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council with a goal of integrating its technology with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

Railways are inherently efficient land-based transportation, and East Japan Railway continuously operates to decrease its power consumption. It has introduced reduced-weight railcars, and is installing solar and wind systems at some of its “eco stations”. The company is also working to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of the entire transport system by promoting inter-modal transportation by combining rail with additional modes of travel.

The Henkel company, out of Germany, creates an array of bio-based detergents and adhesives, minimizing the company’s reliance on fossil fuels. More than two-thirds of its products’ formulations are usually based on renewable raw resources.All new products must help with sustainable development.

Itron manufactures advanced metering national infrastructure system that allows two-way communication between utilities and consumers. This assists customers to participate in demand response and energy conservation programs.

Natura Cosmeticos, of Brazil, is more than just a cosmetics organization. It promotes the development and discovery of new and renewable raw materials, and supports sustainable agriculture and agroforest systems.

Potlatch is promising as being a leader within the domestic sustainable forestry industry. The company recently achieved Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for all its forestlands and also finds other business opportunities for its forestland by way of recreation leases and conservation easements.

Red Electrica is Spain’s leading power transmission company. It is responsible for the management of its country’s electricity distribution system. Spain has become the second-largest European wind-power producer and expects to have wind farms producing 13,000 megawatts by 2011.

Sharp, a well recognized name in consumer electronics products, is the world’s largest producer of solar cells and is one of just a few industry leaders to support a solution to e-waste in the United States.

Umicore is based in Belgium, and is the world’s leading recycler of precious metals. Examples include materials for rechargeable batteries, fuel cells, and auto catalysts.

Vestas, a Danish company, develops, manufactures, and markets wind energy products. This company has a clear sustainability strategy based on manufacturing equipment and operating facilities for the renewable energy sector.

Sometimes, even companies which you never thought of as “green” do contribute to a better environment.

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• GM files for bankrupcy--the end of the car era ? I wrote a little essay on the future of the automobile,"The end of the car era ?"in it, I talk about how the snootiness and myopic visions of American auto manufacturers led to this current situation. I also talk about whether it is a good thing to keep pushing the......
• Buildings and energy consumption. An interesting article on the architecture 2030 website about energy consumption as it relates to buildings. The article shows three pie charts with the first two showing U.S. energy consumption and the third one showing worldwide energy consumption. Surprisingly, it shows that transportation only accounts for 1% of energy consumption......
• Clean renewable energy investments -- who does the most When it comes to the production of clean renewable energy, China took the lead last year with $34.6 billion, leaving the US well behind with only $18.6 billion. Cleantech, the new buzzwords which describes the development of clean and renewable energy sources such as wind, sun, geothermal as well as......

• All Weather, Lazy and Couch Potato Retirement Portfolios I am a student of asset allocation strategies.  More particularly, I am interested in retirement portfolios that can perform well in all market conditions.  Sometimes these are called "all weather", "set and forget", "lazy man" or "couch potato" portfolios. Introduction to Lazy Man and Couch Potato Portfolios The important feature of......
• Ten Tips Toward a More Eco Friendly Home Tip 1 - Turn the lights off any time that they are not needed, even if you are just moving from room to room in the course of your day. According to Energy Star, as much as 20 percent of a home's overall energy use comes from its lighting. Using......
• Introducing The Las Cruces, Green Chamber Of Commerce. Elisa Cundiff works for Energy Concepts, a New Mexico Solar Company. She is also a member of the newly formed, Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce. In Las Cruces, New Mexico we have just formed a “Green Chamber of Commerce”, representing the business interests of local, sustainably-minded companies. Already, over......

Clean coal, Carbon Sequestration, these are expressions we hear quite often when dealing with the production of electricity using fossil fuel other than oil. About twice a week, a new coal plant opens in China.

I came across a blog post on the topic of patents and innovations and the possible competition between China and the US regarding advances in the field of clean coal. The cold war between the former Soviet Union and the US helped advance our exploration of space and the resulting technology that has now become part of our lives. It is thought that perhaps a similar rivalry could stimulate the advancement of cleaner technologies.

There are two things to consider when it comes to energy: 1) Is it clean? 2) Is it renewable?

No matter how clean you make your coal burn, it is not a renewable resources and its mining can also be a source of environmental degradation.

Technological prowess  should be aimed at developing means to better harness clean and renewable energy sources.  The harnessing of  the wind has been done for centuries, certainly we could use that head start to our advantage.

Sometimes I feel like a lot of brain resources are wasted on too many dead ends when it comes to finding solutions to our energy needs.

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• Global warming, Copenhagen, and risk management The Copenhagen Summit is happening right now. In view of the controversy over whether or not human activity is responsible for global warming, or if they're is in fact a global warming, both controversies having been raised by scare tactics orchestrated the conservatives, I thought it would be a good......
• Copenhagen Summit -- controversial for all the wrong reasons Last June, a group of scientists met up in Copenhagen as part of the preparation for the December summit. They hinted at some bad prognosis in regards to climate change. At the time, I thought that this would be the focus of the December summit: Forcing industrialized nations to put......
• Either way, you are right! Whether you think that 1,849 is the number of projects that I have or that project 1,849 itself contains 1,849 projects, either way, you are right. Project 1849 is about the sharing and the dissemination of ideas, information, knowledge. Over the coming months, I will present a multitude of topics......

• Cycle of Renewal Why don't you feel a physical storm is the end of the world? I know storms are usually pretty short lived, and if you wait a bit things will begin to clear. And if humans let psychic storms be, they would be short lived also. But in that case they......
• Energy Independence with Wind Power by Arnold Thomas Electricity is something which we have only become more dependent on since it was first made available to our homes. Of course, electricity can be quite expensive, but our modern lifestyles require access to a steady supply of electrical energy, so people will make sacrifices in other......
• What if We Measured Energy Usage in Lumps of Coal? Ever run into one of those people who refuse to turn off a light when they leave the room? Or worse, those folks that put up so many Christmas lights that you can probably see their home from space? Congrats!  You've just anonymously met one of my neighbors.  Nice guy, nice family......

With the inauguration of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, I think I should push on with the publication of my book. Getting all the facts right and all the details in before final review.

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• Cisco and the future of Internet Video For the past couple of years, an unknown brand has made quite a stir in the cheap video camera market. The Flip video camera is super simple to use. Just press the big red button to start recording and press it again to stop. Then, you simply press to pop......
• How much is your house worth ? Foreclosures, mortgage industry collapse, bank collapse. With all those bad housing industry news, one wonders who sets the prices on a house. The old real estate adage is well known: To succeed in real estate, there are three things you have to know: Location, location, location. A house in Beverly......
• Copenhagen Summit -- controversial for all the wrong reasons Last June, a group of scientists met up in Copenhagen as part of the preparation for the December summit. They hinted at some bad prognosis in regards to climate change. At the time, I thought that this would be the focus of the December summit: Forcing industrialized nations to put......

• 3rd Edition of Romancing the Novel Carnival Welcome to the third edition of romancing the novel. Lots and lots of great links to read and maybe even reread if you're so inclined. I hope you find many new articles to peruse and enjoy! Book Reviews Kat presents Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris posted at Book......
• Steelhead Fishing Essentials (Book & DVD) User Reviews Send this to a friend Steelhead Fishing Essentials (Book & DVD) Manufacturer: Frank Amato Publications, Inc. Customer Rating: List Price: $29.95 Sale Price: $19.25 Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours Free Shipping Available Buy Now Product Description Steelhead are elusive; even the most experienced anglers will go......
• How to Fix and Seal a Wood Deck [/caption]The wood deck is one of the hallmarks of the do-it-yourself home improvement buff, but what happens if you come across a home that has a wood deck that needs to be repaired? You may know a lot about building decks, but in order to fix one up and bring......