Hillary Clinton Heading US Rio Sustainability Delegates

Posted on June 17, 2012 by QuestPoint

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will head the U.S. delegation to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, which will take place June 20-22 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Secretary also plans to meet with key world leaders while at the conference. Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will serve as alternate head of delegation, and Todd Stern, Special Envoy on Climate Change, will serve as chief negotiator. This conference commemorates 20 years since the June 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (the “Earth Summit”).

The 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or “Rio+20” is a forum on how to make sustainable development a reality for seven billion people today, and to define the future we want for nine billion by 2050. With a presence in 177 countries and territories, UNDP assists governments, private sector and civil society to build inclusive, prosperous, and greener societies. We advise our partners to consider every policy and investment from an economic, social and environmental perspective. This holistic, integrated approach to decision making is the path towards empowered lives, resilient nations and a sustainable future. Sustainable development is about people. It is about creating jobs and improving lives while respecting the environment. Eradicating poverty, preventing conflicts, empowering women and girls, and building responsible governing institutions are critical components.

In addition to Secretary Clinton, Administrator Jackson, and Special Envoy Stern, the U.S. delegation will include the following U.S. Government representatives including but not limited to Ambassador Thomas A. Shannon, Jr., Ambassador of the United States to Brazil, Carlos Pascual, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, Department of State and Elizabeth L. Littlefield, President and CEO, Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Other members of the U.S. delegation include technical experts from the Department of State, the United States Mission to the UN, the United States Agency for International Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy and the Treasury Department. They will also be accompanied by nine Private Sector Advisors representing business, state and local officials, nongovernment organizations, youth, women, and labor.

Cali And Panama Conference Targets Renewable Energy

Posted on June 12, 2012 by QuestPoint

The 9th annual Global California Conference will be held at the San Jose City Hall this year on June 22nd. The topic is Panama and the Canal Expansion and its impact on California job creation. One of the presentations is about great renewable energy projects and investment opportunities in the West Coast of the U.S., Panama, Latin America, the Caribbean and the World: Massive Opportunity: Impact Capital for Renewable Energy Projects.

“Panama is poised is poised to become a key player in trade between Latin America and North America as well as Asia. Its geographic location favors a number of possibilities for players and surrounding countries” says panel guest, Rodney Alves of Alves & Associates.
“Panama’s strategic location is a major global shipping and logistics hub. The massive infrastructure improvements underway, including additional Ports and the Panama Canal Expansion, enhance the importance of the U.S.‐Panama Free Trade Agreement”, states Alvaro Cabal Lachman, President of USPAW.

Notable dignitaries from Panama as well as California will be participating in the conference, such as, former Ambassador to Panama in Washington D.C, Juan Sosa, who is now the President of USPA, U.S., will be giving the ‘keynote’ speech. The conference is produced by TradePort, the Monterey Bay International Trade Association in partnership with the United States ‐ Panama Business Council West.

Nutiva Moving To San Francisco Bay Area

D’Angelo Plays Eco Arts Bonnaroo Music Festival

Posted on June 10, 2012 by QuestPoint

Rock the Earth, a national not-for-profit environmental organization that partners with the music industry, just held the largest music festival in the United States – the 11th Annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., June 7-10. Rock the Earth held a series of artist interviews and performances live on Bonnaroo’s Planet Roo Solar Stage, as well as a series of environmental films at the festival. To coincide with its environmental programming, together Rock the Earth and Bonnaroo held a cell phone recycling campaign that rewarded participants who recycled their old and unused mobile phones with free goodies and entry into the daily drawing for prizes.

Moderated by Rock the Earth’s founder and Executive Director, Marc Ross, the theme of this year’s performances and discussions on the Planet Roo Solar Stage were on “Social Change Through Music.” Attendees learned what inspires musicians to be activists, and explored the synergies between the artists that create music and music’s interconnectedness to the environment and world.

From Manchester, Tennessee the Newsfeed Resecher reported, “D’Angelo is back. The reclusive R&B singer made his first live U.S. appearance in 12 years at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival early Sunday morning, surprising a few thousand fans during Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s Superjam session. “I’ve been waiting 12 years to say this ladies and gentlemen, D’Angelo!,” Thompson said as the crowd roared. It was his first U.S. show since 2000 and a prelude to an appearance at July’s Essence Music Festival and a European tour with many of the same players who backed him Sunday morning. D’Angelo played live in Europe earlier this year.”

GE Opens Electric And Hybrid Vehicle Innovation Center

NYC, IBM And CUNY Creating Solar Energy Venture

Posted on June 9, 2012 by QuestPoint

IBM is helping New York City (NYC) become a global leader in urban solar energy market analysis and sustainability through an innovative agreement with CUNY Ventures, a City University of New York (CUNY) Economic Development Corporation entity. The goal of this effort is to nourish solar adoption by developing the capability to analyze and understand key solar market indicators that can make solar system development more cost competitive. Using IBM’s Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) for Smarter Cities as the backbone, this analytics-based approach will help New York City monitor and analyze solar production and capacity through a virtual control room that will provide a dashboard view of key indicators.

The collaboration is part of ‘Solar Market Analytics, Roadmapping, and Tracking NY’ (SMART NY), a groundbreaking project supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ‘Rooftop Solar Challenge’, part of the DOE SunShot Initiative which is striving to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade.

With IBM’s IOC software, CUNY Ventures will access and analyze data from the NYC Solar Portal, an inter-agency permitting and tracking solution developed by Procemx; data systems in solar empowerment zones; and the NYC Solar Map, putting in place a long-term solution designed to drive down the costs of solar deployment. Initially, five state and city entities will utilize the solar market analytics: the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the NYC Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability, Consolidated Edison, the NYC Department of Buildings and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Full Article: IBM Smarter Cities Technology Helps NYC Envision Solar Energy Leadership through CUNY Ventures

Green News Wall

Ascent Solar Charging IPhones At Intersolar Europe

Posted on June 6, 2012 by QuestPoint

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. a developer of state-of-the-art, flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules, announced today it has launched a charger for the Apple iPhone 4/4S smart phone featuring Ascent’s ultra light CIGS technology. Branded under Ascent’s new EnerPlex line of consumer products, the charger incorporates the company’s solar cells into a sleek, protective iPhone 4/4S case, along with a thin battery. The charger adds minimal weight and size to an iPhone smart phone, yet provides significantly improved battery life by harnessing sunlight for electric power. The EnerPlex charger will be available for review at Intersolar Europe 2012, the world’s largest solar technology trade show, from June 13 – June 15.

Ascent Solar’s President and CEO, Victor Lee, said “The EnerPlex charger is the first protective iPhone case to leverage the lightweight qualities and superior aesthetics of our CIGS solar technology. It will extend the usage time of iPhone smart phones while preserving the high level of design quality that consumers demand. Apple customers can now incorporate green technology into their everyday life, improving the performance of their smart phone without compromising style.”

Lee continued, “The growth of the smart phone market has been tremendous and is expected to continue for several years to come. Apple has sold over 175 million iPhone smart phones. Samsung is introducing new products in a competitive market where the number of smart phones in use globally is expected to reach 1 billion in the next 4 years. 144 million smart phones were sold globally in the first quarter of this year alone. Ascent’s EnerPlex line is focused on providing millions of smart phone customers with a product that prolongs battery life, increases mobility and allows them to be ‘green’, all without adding significant size or weight to the phone.”

California Leading US Clean Energy Revolution

Posted on May 31, 2012 by quest

Clean Edge’s third annual State Clean Energy Index, released today, provides the industry’s most comprehensive and objective analysis of how all 50 states, and the individuals, businesses, and organizations that operate there, compare across the clean-energy spectrum. According to Clean Edge’s assessment and ranking of more than 70 different indicators in technology, policy, and capital, the top 10 states in the nation this year are California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, New York, Illinois, New Mexico, Vermont, and Minnesota.

Clean Edge managing director Ron Pernick said,“Against the backdrop of partisan attacks and general inaction within Congress, the state-level scene shows a diversity that crosses political boundaries and regions. The next decade will determine which nations, states, and cities lead in clean tech, and our State Index provides critical insights on the dramatic shifts and best practices that are leading the way within the U.S.” Key market indicators tracked by Clean Edge via its State Clean Energy Index subscription service include total electricity produced by clean-energy sources, hybrid and electric vehicles on the road, clean-energy venture and patent activity, and policy regulations and incentives. The 2012 State Index paints an important and insightful picture of the U.S. clean-energy landscape. For example; California’s clean-energy venture capital dollars in 2011 exceeded the total of all the other 49 states combined. The number of registered hybrid cars in the U.S. grew to nearly 2 million while all-electric vehicles neared the 50,000 registered-vehicle milestone. Six states, twice as many as last year, now generate more than 10 percent of their utility-scale electricity from wind, solar, and/or geothermal.

An executive summary of this year’s State Index is available. The executive summary provides a glimpse at topline findings from the State Clean Energy Index report, the centerpiece of a larger advisory subscription service. Along with access to the full State Index report – containing detailed Index results, comprehensive data tables, and individual state report cards – subscribers receive custom presentations, clean-tech company database access, and advisory hours.