tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-375874512011-11-27T15:50:42.699-08:00Analysis and Market Research studies in support of Green Entrepreneurs.BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.comBlogger641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-24583512142068333082008-04-07T08:35:00.000-07:002010-06-13T18:48:35.138-07:00

RFID enabled credit cards are easy to hack: I met Pablos at ETech earlier this year, he gave a fantastic talk on credit card (in)security and other topics.Alternative Energy: Boom or Bust?James Speth: The co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council in an hour-long interview on KQED's Forum.Pico Iyer on the Dalai Lama: One of my favorite travel writers has a new book on Tenzin Gyatso, the

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-17565838886789348022008-03-20T10:05:00.000-07:002008-03-20T10:13:38.251-07:00

Robert Parker: Charlie Rose devotes a full hour to the world's most influential wine critic.Unrest in Tibet (plus elections in Taiwan): Recent hour-long discussion on KQED's Forum.The remaining entries are on health care related topics.Treating the Numbers: Treating the numbers refers to the tendency of some Doctors "... to get a patient's test results to a certain target, which they assume will

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-50183930113444523622008-03-11T09:22:00.000-07:002008-03-11T10:03:13.003-07:00

Remote Area Medical: CBS profiles this amazing organization founded to provide medical care to people in the developing world. What Americans may not be aware of is that 60% of their operation serves uninsured/underinsured people in rural and urban America.Arguments mount for a National Healthcare system: I'm in favor of a national system, as long as its not a monopoly.LA Times on Chuck Feeney: I

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-24687432887032236192008-02-29T10:00:00.000-08:002008-02-29T08:54:36.184-08:00

From Geeks to Greens: The Economist on Silicon Valley's fascination with green technologies.A World of Bananas: An expert weighs in on the best tasting banana in the world. His choice? The lakatan from the Philippines.Made In Italy: Italy's leading brands are increasingly relying on Chinese workers toiling in sweatshop conditions. What happened to the famed EU labor laws?Hydroelectric Power

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-29555779271188403422008-02-14T09:31:00.000-08:002008-02-14T11:27:59.467-08:00

Drop.io: Needing to (anonymously) share files or communicate with your friends or the world? Check out this new site that is popular among "democracy movement" types overseas.Tufte on the iPhone: Visualization guru weighs in on what's cool and what needs work. The QuickTime file is large and may require a few minutes to download.Dow Jones Meets Dharma: Socially-responsible investing gains a

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-89828454697156694942008-01-29T08:43:00.000-08:002008-01-29T09:28:46.325-08:00

David Rieff: Susan Sontag's son discusses her last days with Teri Gross.Designs for the Real World: Dot Earth comes to MIT.The Most Energy-Efficient Airline: One big catch, the plane never actually takes off!World Equity Markets: The Wall Street Journal has a nice graphic that captures recent turmoil in stock markets across the world.fMRI and Wine Tasting: "If a person is told they are tasting

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-81838294167033914082008-01-07T09:21:00.000-08:002008-01-07T10:22:40.212-08:00

In Defense of Food: Michael Pollan talks about his new book on Science Friday.Monsanto and the Future Seed: Very quietly GMO seeds are being adopted across the world. From the U.S., where they originated, through Asia, Africa, and even Western Europe. Monsanto and other agriculture conglomerates are targeting the large food producers rather than consumers. So while your chips and snacks probably

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-65024841695397393882007-12-05T10:00:00.000-08:002007-12-06T15:47:44.143-08:00

The Story of Stuff: One of the BEST online videos I have watched. An incredibly well-produced video addressing consumerism, industrial design, sustainability, and social justice. Its about 15 minutes long, but I highly recommend you watch it in its entirety.Toxic Chemicals (The E.U. and the U.S.): As the child of Chemistry professors, I have always been aware of the role of chemicals in everyday

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-55502953801947970212007-11-26T14:52:00.000-08:002007-11-26T16:31:55.256-08:00

From Dave Barry:We Americans live in a nation where the medical-care system is second to none in the world, unless you count maybe 25 or 30 little scuzzball countries like Scotland that we could vaporize in seconds if we felt like it.Previous quotes can be found here. Digg It! , Bookmark to del.icio.us , My Yahoo! , ATOM Feed

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-87297405174441803742007-11-20T09:16:00.000-08:002007-11-20T21:42:08.979-08:00

We live in an age of excess, and nothing better captures this point than the average size of new homes. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average new home went from 1,100 square feet in the 1950's to 2,340 square feet in 2002. In the 1950's new homes averaged 290 square feet per family member, by 2003, new homes constructed averaged 893 square feet per family member! I'm proud to report

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-33210103019224035592007-11-18T09:06:00.000-08:002007-11-18T09:11:01.098-08:00

The SF Chronicle's travel section has a nice feature on Palawan:... The wildlife, the terrain and the remoteness all suggested to me that this corner of The Philippines may be the latest frontier in the world of eco-tourism.... My adventure began when I flew southwest from Manila to Palawan, the "last frontier" of the Philippines. If any place in the Philippines could become a famous eco-tourism

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-87771960986445443932007-11-08T20:35:00.000-08:002007-11-08T20:37:45.572-08:00

From Amma:Compassion is the language the blind can see and the deaf can hear.Previous quotes can be found here. Digg It! , Bookmark to del.icio.us , My Yahoo! , ATOM Feed

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-38657545285478938682007-10-31T14:31:00.000-07:002007-10-31T14:37:55.163-07:00

From Andrew Carnegie:This, then, is held the duty of the man of wealth: first, to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of those dependent upon him; and after doing so to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds which he is called upon to administer ... to produce the most

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-60377553404147069112007-10-23T07:31:00.000-07:002007-10-23T08:54:37.890-07:00

From St. Francis de Sales:"Do not wish to be anything but what you are,and try to be that perfectly." Digg It! , Bookmark to del.icio.us , My Yahoo! , ATOM Feed

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-79975316160445171312007-10-22T14:12:00.000-07:002007-10-22T16:05:22.282-07:00

Tom Brokaw interviews Yvon Chouinard: The founder of Patagonia at the recent Google Zeitgeist! His fingers have never touched a keyboard, and he has never owned a cell phone. Personally I held off buying a cell phone until 2004 -- even then I did so only because I needed a work/office phone. I advise all you techno-geeks out there to watch this interview. Money quote: "We are no longer citizens

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-82690789041771393072007-10-02T09:39:00.000-07:002007-10-02T09:33:37.227-07:00

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Beloved Computer Science professor at Carnegie-Mellon, a pioneer in the field of computer graphics and animation -- he has advanced stage pancreatic cancer. What a moving video! Randy also maintains a chronicle of his battle with cancer.Canada's Highway To Hell: This insightful feature article will surprise a lot of Americans -- it did me. Our neighbors up in Alberta

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-54058840373797494822007-10-01T09:32:00.000-07:002007-10-01T09:35:37.732-07:00

A moving photo of a recent rally: Digg It! , Bookmark to del.icio.us , My Yahoo! , ATOM Feed

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-43603352325340823812007-09-27T13:56:00.000-07:002007-09-27T13:58:27.818-07:00

Things are getting worse:Today's Census Bureau report on the number of new homes sold in August provides our first clear data for the impact on the housing market of the financial turmoil that began August 9. It is not a pretty sight.In a typical year, most new home sales occur between March and August. In each of those months we usually might expect 35% more homes to be sold than at the seasonal

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-74641612503842968182007-09-25T09:05:00.000-07:002007-09-25T12:46:04.961-07:00

Rumored to own only a single pair of shoes, Chuck Feeney was the founder of the highly successful retail chain, the Duty Free stores. Using the fortune he generated in the private sector Chuck Feeney should be a multi-billionaire. His co-founder, Robert Miller, enjoys the trappings of wealth, and lives the life of a billionaire, with the requisite socialite daughters ("The Miller Sisters").Its

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-28054526526936953112007-09-12T09:37:00.000-07:002007-09-12T11:33:51.194-07:00

Running the Numbers: Chris Jordan's amazing photos help us visualize a variety of social statistics (e.g. American children with no health insurance coverage in 2007).Freegans: LATimes article on Freegans -- "the word combining "vegan" and "free" -- a growing subculture of people who have reduced their spending habits and live off consumer waste."Supercapitalism: Fresh Air's Terry Gross

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-6740236234065256322007-09-06T09:47:00.000-07:002007-09-06T09:49:20.158-07:00

The Trap is a brilliant book on the challenges facing young Americans. First time author, Daniel Brook, has the right combination of personal stories, history, and statistics, resulting in a book I found hard to put down. Like the film Sicko, which used the stories of Americans with health insurance, The Trap tells the stories of elite school graduates who aspire to work in jobs that reflect

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-58462300612774634302007-08-30T09:00:00.000-07:002007-08-29T18:53:37.661-07:00

The Farm Bill: Science Friday has a round table with Michael Pollan, Marion Nestle, and Sandor Katz.DH Love Life: I really like Daryl Hannah's environmental videos. They are short, informative and entertaining.Clean Tech Economics: A recent hour-long discussion on KQED's Forum.Water Diaries: Award-winning radio program Living on Earth, compares water usage in the US and India.The Devil Came On

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-1997885464987534762007-08-27T09:17:00.000-07:002007-08-27T09:43:55.042-07:00

There is finally a documentary that I hope will generate the momentum needed to put a halt to the crisis in Darfur. The Devil Came On Horseback follows one person's journey from the Marine Corps to full time activist and speaker. What makes the film so powerful is the graphic footage, photos and testimony that puts to rest any doubts about whether genocide is taking place. As the film documents,

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-16811278100193510902007-08-23T08:58:00.000-07:002007-08-23T09:36:50.592-07:00

Sorry for posting off-topic these days. The financial turmoil engulfing the markets is bringing back a lot of memories. I do think that folks interested in Green Biz need to have some understanding of what is roiling the markets. After all, a recession will hurt all of us.Back in the late 1990's I was the lead Quant for a small hedge fund, and was around for the 1998 financial crisis. I'm of

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-7523076951146698392007-08-21T14:55:00.000-07:002007-08-21T14:57:56.276-07:00

From Bloomberg:``I've never seen it like this before,'' said Jim Galluzzo, who began trading short-maturity Treasuries 20 years ago and now trades bills at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut. ``Bills right now are trading like dot-coms.'' Digg It! , Bookmark to del.icio.us , My Yahoo! , ATOM Feed

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-14369485459531947212007-08-19T18:06:00.000-07:002007-08-19T22:21:48.317-07:00

The current volatility in the World's equity markets is making a lot of folks nervous in the U.S. Most pundits believe that the Fed should ease rates because the main problem facing the economy is lack of liquidity, and that the crisis is due to the difficulty of hedging liquidity risk.I am a bit more pessimistic. I tend to subscribe to the school of thought that what we really have is a looming

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-27234759787574113832007-08-11T22:54:00.000-07:002007-08-11T23:06:30.639-07:00

I had the pleasure of pedaling away for about an hour, to help power a concert put together by the Bicycle Music Festival. As we were finishing up our weekly trip to the Alemany Farmer's Market, we walked by just when they were setting up. It was fun alternating between two bikes and I am inspired to have a bike-powered power rig at home. At least so I can charge our cell phones on them.One of

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-88927742409796406632007-07-12T22:28:00.001-07:002007-07-12T22:29:48.650-07:00

micro-wind technology in San Francisco: " ... the 34-year-old engineer has pioneered the city's first permitted micro–wind project, a six-foot-tall cylindrical turbine that currently sits on his roof and sends juice into the energy grid ... (it) generate(s) between 300 and 600 kilowatt hours of energy per year, or about 10 percent of a typical home's energy needs. ... A one-turbine system will

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-22803955758079976502007-07-11T15:21:00.000-07:002007-07-11T18:29:13.493-07:00

In a recent post, I highlighted mining and extraction costs ("externalities") associated with coal mining. In most countries coal is the dominant source of electricity. To effectively compete with the de facto source of electricity, supporters of renewable energy need to understand some of the externalities that are usually omitted when calculating the average cost of electricity from coal."Clean

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-6061108957712966582007-07-03T08:57:00.000-07:002007-07-04T09:08:38.604-07:00

Sicko may be Michael Moore's best film yet, but I do not agree with him that a single-payer system is the way to go. Both the UK and France have a mix of public and private healthcare providers, while Canada is the poster child of a single-payer system. Interestingly short films to counter Sicko are starting to appear on YouTube, and organizations like Timely Medical Alternatives are being cited

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-6909901892609041882007-06-26T09:19:00.000-07:002007-06-26T12:00:05.073-07:00

At this year's Foo Camp, I went to an interesting discussion on Global Energy led by Saul Griffith and Jim McBride. Using the work of Wes Hermann, they presented a first draft of a pretty compelling slide show, which one member of the audience suggested they call "A Convenient Truth". Wes Hermann has done extensive research on Exergy and how much of it is physically available. Saul and Jim

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-36802037663241939212007-06-19T09:10:00.000-07:002007-06-25T14:10:22.294-07:00

As far as electricity generation is concerned, Coal is the benchmark against which all renewable energy sources are compared with. In a previous post, I compared the cost per kilowatt hour (KWH) from a variety of renewables and concluded that coal is still much cheaper. In this post we will evaluate coal using the Triple Bottom Line and conclude that it is clearly a lot more expensive than it

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-78302699360278689092007-06-13T09:26:00.000-07:002007-06-13T09:50:48.477-07:00

The Economist had a recent article on municipal curbside recycling which laid to rest the question of whether recycling is good for the environment. Recycling involves trucks, other machinery and energy inputs, so a valid question is whether or not the amount of materials extracted justifies the amount of energy used in the process. Using the results from a recent study sponsored by the UK-based

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-3773290279796520432007-06-11T15:04:00.000-07:002007-06-11T12:06:04.033-07:00

The Strange Rise of Modern India: This is a must-read book on the world's largest democracy, incredibly well-written. Here is a recent interview with the author.Danish Wind Sector runs into problems: "A conservative government has changed the rules of the game: Subsidies for wind-generated electricity have been reduced and planning rules for new turbines tightened. As a consequence, the

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-60192819469444989932007-06-05T18:13:00.000-07:002007-06-05T19:01:10.293-07:00

A few months ago I reviewed data on VC and Federal investments in Clean/Renewable energy. Since then I have been on the lookout for similar data by geography. Luckily The Economist just published an article comparing different regions in the U.S. in terms of the amount of Clean Technology VC investments.Based on my previous post, Clean Energy accounted for about 10% in 2006 VC investments. The

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-33074756571029592742007-05-31T17:56:00.000-07:002007-05-31T13:28:28.766-07:00

Reading this recent post about Google's initiative to encourage PC makers to install more efficient power supplies, reminded me of a 2002 study commissioned by NRDC. Back in 2002, about 500M power supplies were sold in the U.S. annually, and about 6% of all electricity consumed in the U.S. flowed through power supplies. I haven't run across updated data and I will assume that the results of the

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-5805905764861602782007-05-28T09:58:00.000-07:002007-05-31T10:46:24.874-07:00

While the U.S. Goverment has shied away from Renewable Energy mandates, Federalism is alive and well on the energy issue. A recent WSJ article included a "cheatsheet" on the current State-by-State renewable energy targets:Based on the current level of interest in renewables, I suspect that National legistlation outlining targets for the use of renewables, to be in place by the end of the NEXT

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-80180935358170791612007-05-22T14:19:00.000-07:002007-05-24T21:52:40.467-07:00

Amory Lovins (The Future of U.S. Energy): In about an hour, Amory describes his roadmap for getting the U.S. to energy independence using a few simple steps. Business leaders should pay attention to some of his suggestions, there are lots of profits to be made. Includes a cool overview of carbon fiber vehicles.Oil on the Brain: What a great book. It reminded me of two other books I loved (The

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-61684232455046678142007-05-21T15:16:00.000-07:002007-05-22T09:47:48.105-07:00

About a month ago, the Wall Street Journal had an article on Denmark's approach to energy. The Danes are rock stars in the world of energy efficiency and conservation, their overall energy consumption is identical to what it was 30 years ago:While America's energy consumption rose 40% over the same thirty-year period, the U.S. GDP quadrupled. Danish population went up 7% while US population

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-54398614953328349342007-05-14T18:55:00.000-07:002007-05-18T09:06:57.387-07:00

The EPA ranks companies based on the amount of renewable energy they generate or purchase to meet their electricity needs. The ranking is based on data submitted by the companies and submission is on a voluntary basis. Nonetheless, the results were suprising. I was assuming that Silicon Valley companies, given their interest in renewables would be disproportionately represented. Pepsi Cola, Wells

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-24158645115956878002007-05-07T07:45:00.000-07:002007-05-09T09:09:16.822-07:00

As carbon offsets become more popular (the Financial Times estimates it will be a muti-billion market in a few years), articles questioning the programs they fund are starting to appear:Worse, reports of fraud and abuse are piling up. Most recently, an investigation by The Financial Times found that companies and individuals “rushing to go green have been spending millions on ‘carbon credit’

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-13589097141747413632007-04-30T09:00:00.000-07:002007-04-30T09:01:46.543-07:00

Last week, I gave a detailed analysis of Energy Consumption in the Chemical Industry, and one of the most disturbing factoids was how inefficient that sector is. Ingredients needed for fertilizers and pesticides account for big chunk of Chemical manufacturing, so by supporting locally-grown Organic agriculture we realize significant savings in fossil fuels.Organic agriculture has several

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-70918251735339073162007-04-23T09:23:00.000-07:002007-04-23T09:06:24.704-07:00

In a previous post, I estimated that the Industrial sector consumes about a third of all energy used in the U.S. I ended with the results of a 2002 survey which identified which particular industries consumed the most energy. In this post I will do a detailed analysis of what was estimated to be the leading energy consumer in the industrial and manufacturing sector: the Chemical industry. The

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-36337853580845108322007-04-16T10:22:00.000-07:002007-04-16T09:07:00.152-07:00

A friend alerted me to a recent Popular Mechanics article on the "Hydrogen Economy": a concept frequently promoted by politicians (especially Bush and Schwarzenegger). The article is an excellent overview on the Production, Storage, Distribution, and Use of Hydrogen energy. Needless to say, the article brings up lots of hurdles that need to be overcome before Hydrogen becomes a viable source of

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-17974362998963374652007-04-12T18:44:00.000-07:002007-04-12T20:56:50.225-07:00

Over the next several posts, I will attempt to highlight the major uses of energy in the U.S. The Energy Information Administration provides a breakdown of energy use by sector:While the share of energy use from the Industrial sector has dropped over the last decade (1995 to 2005), it still accounts for about one-third of total energy in the U.S.In the next several posts I will try to analyze

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-48955238473223392472007-04-09T09:41:00.000-07:002007-04-08T17:42:44.731-07:00

The last few weeks have not been kind to the Big 3 U.S. automakers. First the SCOTUS ruled that under the Clear Air Act, the EPA has the authority to set fuel efficiency standards. Second, March vehicle sales showed the Asian carmakers continuing to grab market share from Detroit. With gasoline prices rising, and with the Big 3 weaker in the compact and subcompact categories, expect things to

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-29853938642668953462007-04-02T09:38:00.000-07:002007-04-10T15:38:42.797-07:00

Growing up in Southeast Asia and having gone through seasonal water rationing, I still wonder whether I appreciate how precious water is. Having lived in the U.S. for years I take for granted that water is available on demand. But in large regions of the world, water is increasingly becoming a precious commodity. Political scientists and environmentalists have been warning that wars and crises

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-38393331429257963022007-03-26T09:32:00.000-07:002007-03-27T09:29:12.978-07:00

In an earlier post, I noted that about 40% of CO2 emissions is from electric power generation. I also provided some interesting graphs comparing electric power generation from the U.S. with China, India, and the OECD.In this post, I will provide detailed graphs comparing electricity generation in the U.S. with a few key countries. I was motivated by a friend's question regarding how other

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-73044016743965888512007-03-19T09:54:00.000-07:002007-03-19T10:44:16.821-07:00

In a previous post, I estimated Big Oil's investments in Renewable Energy, and concluded that total investments are still a small percentage of overall profits. Fortunately, the U.S. Venture Capital community is starting to invest Billions into Clean Energy. Before we dive into the numbers, a note about terminology: I've been noticing the use of the term "Clean" over "Green". Clean Tech is a

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-62558100868906346822007-03-12T10:00:00.000-07:002007-03-12T09:16:04.459-07:00

A friend of mine based overseas recently sent me an email:I love the Red States/Blue States trend graph of electricity consumption that you have referenced a few times. Any idea what led to California diverging so dramatically starting in the 1970s? From the graph, it appears that the other states can benefit from adopting some of the policies that proved successful in the Golden State.My friend

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-76889792914868875442007-03-05T14:24:00.000-08:002007-04-08T17:45:41.150-07:00

With oil prices still at historic levels, expect 2007 to be another banner year for the major oil companies. Exxon-Mobil alone took in over $3.2B per month (or over $108M per day) in profits in 2006! With such large profits available in the fossil fuel business, are any of the majors seriously investing in renewables? They are, but the amount varies across companies. The majors see themselves as

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-23807843513470583202007-02-26T08:26:00.000-08:002007-02-26T09:20:34.742-08:00

In a previous post, I noted that the U.S. currently gets only about 2% of its electricity from renewables. Is coal, which supplies about 50% of U.S. electricity, significantly cheaper than alternative energy sources? In this post, I will present two different estimates of power generation, both of which show an improving cost picture for alternative energy.Since coal and natural gas account for

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-22517228793881482262007-02-20T08:00:00.000-08:002007-04-08T17:47:21.299-07:00

Among U.S. states, California and Texas currently generate the most wind energy. It is also well-known that the Dakotas have enormous wind potential. I was pleasantly surprised to come across a recent paper highlighting wind energy available off the Northeastern seaboard. The study covers states (MA to NC, plus D.C.) adjacent to the Middle-Atlantic Bight (MAB):(To enlarge a particular image,

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-13416025514700521312007-02-12T08:49:00.000-08:002007-02-12T12:05:07.084-08:00

In an earlier post, I noted that Electric Power Generation was the largest source of CO2 emissions: in the U.S. it accounts for about 40% and worldwide about 38%. This week I'll review the main sources of electric power, some technologies being developed to clean up power generation, and the political challenges that lie ahead. As in previous weeks, I'll argue that while technological

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-10145157253964633202007-02-05T09:00:00.000-08:002007-04-08T17:43:39.169-07:00

In last week's post, I noted that the two main sources of C02 emissions are Transportation and Electric Power Generation. Worldwide, Transportation accounted for about 20% of total CO2 emissions, and in the US it accounts for about 33%.Concern about climate change and the rise in oil prices over the last 5 years partially explains the Ethanol craze that has gripped policy-makers and the private

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-20623892137286213722007-01-29T08:10:00.000-08:002007-02-26T17:34:12.432-08:00

Lowering CO2 emissions is increasingly becoming a goal of Corporate America. The CEO's of 10 major corporations are calling on the Bush administration and Congress to pass some " ... serious global warming legislation as quickly as possible." Evangelical Christians, an important constituency inside the Republican party, are also beginning to take environmental issues more seriously. Throw in the

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-52152625707795807382007-01-22T07:49:00.000-08:002007-01-22T09:32:02.793-08:00

I recently came across data sets on Renewable Energy Consumption from the U.S. Census. Besides recent Consumption rates, we will examine historical rates and trends. Consumption gives a good proxy for the growth in investments in particular types of renewables: the more projects get funded, the more energy is available for consumption.The U.S. Census defines renewable energy as:... obtained from

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-1168568960948890812007-01-15T07:43:00.000-08:002007-01-15T09:04:32.614-08:00

Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey started blogging in September 2005, and while I counted only 9 posts, they are all thoughtful and well-written. Equally interesting are the comments left by readers of his blog. Are there particular topics that emerge as important to the blog's readers?Reprising an earlier post, I used recent developments in (unsupervised) machine learning and bayesian

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-1165856521321162092006-12-18T08:01:00.000-08:002007-01-15T09:07:00.315-08:00

It is not hard to see why Green Entrepreneurs might be interested in public health studies. Organic products + love for the environment and outdoors + interest in wellness and healthy living, definitely helps raise the health of any community. The important LOHAS market segment can help nurture products and technologies which could have huge public health benefits.So what are the healthiest

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-1165195946446884372006-12-11T07:25:00.000-08:002007-04-08T17:44:54.542-07:00

A recent NY Times article had an interesting graphic detailing the per capita consumption of electricity and gasoline. (To enlarge a particular image, click on it.)Wanting a different visual for these consumption rates, I took the data and generated corresponding heat maps. In the next two maps, Green signifies a state consumes less (per capita) compared to the U.S. Per Capita Rate, Red signifies

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-1165189885633225912006-12-04T06:33:00.000-08:002007-01-18T17:45:01.155-08:00

Once can cite a litany of anecdotal evidence showing that sales of Organic Foods in the U.S. is growing fast. For official statistics, the Organic Trade Association conducts regular manufacturers survey, which unfortunately, seems to be available only to members. I was able to track down a copy of the 2004 survey, and what follows are some graphs I've put together using the 2004 survey results. (

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-1164594419548684772006-11-27T11:09:00.000-08:002007-01-15T09:09:24.923-08:00

Whole Foods is the big player in Organic groceries, and arguably, for the entire LOHAS Industry (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability). I will be devoting some future posts to understanding Whole Foods. With a market cap of $6.7B and no signs of slowing down, Whole Foods has tried to stay true to its values, inspite of its rapid growth.To understand the market for Green products, it is good

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-1163884875276897592006-11-20T09:22:00.000-08:002007-01-15T09:10:30.555-08:00

Walking around the recent SF Green Festival (Greenfest), I was struck by the number and variety of exhibitors. The festival keeps growing, and this year, the Concourse really felt crowded. Who were the exhibitors? The resulting analysis is based on data from the festival's own listings, which I supplemented with descriptions from the exhibitors' web sites. I was interested in uncovering the

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37587451.post-1164042001439851992006-11-20T08:53:00.000-08:002007-05-21T14:51:09.690-07:00

Welcome to Green Markets.We hope this blog can serve as a resource for "Green" entrepreneurs. Our posting frequency will be weekly, or whenever it is that we come across interesting data!If you have data or topics you want us to cover, post a comment and we will evaluate your request.

BEN LORICAnoreply@blogger.com4