What green printing really all about? When we think ‘green printing’ the terms ‘recycled’, FSC Certified, and ’soy inks’ come to mind, but is that all there is? Are these things really enough? One ton of recycled paper still consumes up to four trees, 18,000 BTU’s of energy, creates up to two tons of solid waste, and creates thousands of gallons of contaminated waste-water? Certainly FSC, SFI, and PEFC are important designations and diverting pulp production from irresponsibly managed forests is critical, but at what point will we begin to tip the balance of FSC paper production versus FSC forestry growth toward the negative?

Many packaging designers turn to soy inks to tell their story. Soy inks have been used by offset printers for years but are they really beneficial for use on labels, tags, and packaging? (contact me for more info on the real truth behind soy inks for labels and flexible packaging.) The point here is that print buyers, green marketers and brand owners have gotten lazy. It’s commonplace these days to market a package with recycled paper, and include the ‘please recycle this package’ . Most consumers simply assume that today’s packaging IS recyclable. Brands focus on ‘recycled’ and recycling because it’s easy, cheap and everybody understands it. What I’d like to see is brand owners, printers, and consumers focus in on the ‘green issues’ that are going to matter most going forward- sustainability (sourcing print and packaging from more abundant, renewable resources), and carbon footprint.

Sustainable Paper Options vs Traditional Tree-Pulp Papers

Tree-free papers made from rotting plant waste such as banana, papaya and coconut trees, bamboo, and bagasse are an option here. There are a few companies that focus on tree-free paper production, and though the performance of these papers as a label/packaging material is limited in some cases they have successfully replaced tree-pulp papers.
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A few days ago we received confirmation that Nualgi boosts growth of Green Algae too. We had been using Nualgi for Diatom algae only in the past.

However the new development opens up more vistas for Nualgi – since green algae is a source of biodiesel.

In natural ponds where both Diatoms and Green Algae are present we found that Nualgi causes a bloom of diatoms and not of green algae. But if used in ponds in which only Green Algae are present then even these would bloom.

Nualgi is a sustainable solution because it sets off a series of sustainable cycles:

CO2 – O2 cycle in water – Anthropogenic CO2, Aquatic Animal CO2 to O2 from Diatoms.
Food – Sewage – Nutrients in water – Fish – Food Cycle.
Biodiesel – CO2 – Diatoms – Biodiesel cycle.
Diatoms to Aerobic Bacteria – CO2 and Nutrients to O2 Cycle

Study of Algae – Phycology
Phyco: prefix; from the Greek, phukos meaning seaweed, algae; phycology.

M V Bhaskar writes about Nualgi at Nualgi – Algae for Bio-remediation and Biodiesel

Reducing the drag imposed on an automobile by air flowing over its surface has potential to improve gas mileage. This idea should not be surprising because auto engineers have been studying the problem for decades. In fact, engineers and scientists have been studying this problem for over 100 years because it impacts automobiles, airplanes, and especially marine vessels.

As a car accelerates and decelerates, the air flowing at the surface cannot keep up. Consequently, flow transitions from laminar to turbulent, which ultimately requires more work from your engine. This means that aggressive drivers will likely suffer from lower fuel efficiency simple due to driving behavior. Optimizing, however, the conditions under which laminar flow is maintained could reduce gas consumption. Mechanical engineers at MIT have recently solved this problem through theoretical predictions. Read more about this 100 year old problem at MIT

When it takes a barrel of oil to produce a barrel of oil, our Civilization will have run out of gas. It’s too simplistic to estimate the known oil reserves and divided that figure by annual oil consumption and project that in about thirty years, we’ll be out of gas.

In January 1901, the Texas Spindletop Field was brought into production. Initially, this one oil field produced more oil than Russian produces yearly, now. This discovery lead to the end of the Rockefeller Oil Monopoly. It introduced a century of global oil exploration. We have probably found all the cheap oil available to us. American’s oil production peaked in 1969. World oil production is expected to peak around 2015. Meanwhile, oil consumption has risen by over fourfold since 1960. It is expected to continue to rise during the next decade. When demand exceeds dwindling supplies, the result is higher prices. It doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the gas-guzzler. There are folks willing to pay fifty or one hundred dollars a gallon for gas.

There are no doubt undiscovered oil fields. Odds are these fields are small, deep and far more costly to develop than those of the 20th Century. It’s impossible to project how much oil we haven’t found. Whatever the amount of undiscovered petroleum, we will no doubt find it in the next thirty years. That oil may add a few weeks or years to our cheap oil needs.

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With all the talk regarding solar energy for many years its time has finally come. The gradual inevitable depletion of natural resources has made alternative sources an absolute must. It’s now a matter of time and we’ll determine the eventual new leader. A lot of money and resources are now being spent to find the best natural resource such as solar energy.

While many potential sources are possible, research into all the avenues will eventually surface with the most viable option for our use. Presently we are using a number of various resources to create heat, electricity and desalination of seawater. Renewable energy has the sun as it’s primary source which is not deletable. Approximately 30% of our energy resources come from the sun.

Most of our economic resources and time are spend developing our resources in the area’s of wind power, water power, solar energy, biofuel, liquid biofuel, solid biomass and geothermal. Naturally these all have their pro’s and cons. The biggest concern is pollution that comes directly the materials, industrial processes and construction equipment used to create them. The side effects can be pollution and waste that will impact our environment.

We also we need to consider other key issues of environmental impacts, aesthetics and habitat hazards, land usage, proximity to demand, availability, reliability, longevity along with energy input verses output. Other possibilities such as fossil fuels and nuclear power have their own positive and negatives and are not as viable. The resources for our use are many, the challenge is not if we have alternates to use but which ones and in what order.

The U.S. currently relies heavily on coal, oil, and natural gas for its energy. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable, that is, they draw on finite resources that will eventually dwindle, becoming too expensive or too environmentally-damaging to retrieve. In contrast, renewable energy resources — such as wind and solar energy — are constantly replenished and will never run out.

Renewable energy is important because of the benefits it provides. It is believed that the major element in the learning and discovery process definitely will be and is solar energy.

The Costs Of Free Energy

A small town in northern Maine has recently been offered free and clean electricity for the next 20 years. There is, however, one catch to this opportunity – 400 ft windmills are to be placed along a ridge surrounding a nearby lake. There is both support and opposition to this alternative energy technology. Some against installation of the windmills argue that the natural beauty of the area will be corrupted, and the windmills would be too close to their homes. Other possible solutions have been argued such as placing the windmills in remote, unpopulated areas and/or offshore in coastal waters. Both of these options present greater capital investment and even more technological challenges.

Is our society ready to make sacrifices for cleaner and more efficient energy technology? A decline in property value brought about by windmills on the horizon is a steep price to pay for “free” electricity. Perhaps people would adopt this plan if the cost of electricity was more equivalent to a mortgage payment.

In a recent survey of the alternative energy industry shows Solar has experienced the most rapid economic growth over the past 12 months – but Wind Power is also surging and has the most momentum going forward.

The survey – which focused on industry trends and opportunities – was completed August 4, 2008, and a total of 196 respondents working in alternative energy sectors participated.

Solar Is Up

The solar sector (51%; up 2-pts) has come on strong over the past 12 months according to industry respondents – echoing the findings of our December 2007 survey. However, so has Wind Power (49%; up 14-pts).

Going forward, Solar (56%; down 2-pts) is expected to achieve the most rapid growth for the next 12-24 months, but Wind (41%; up 13-pts) is also showing striking strength going forward.

In addition, the rapid rise of gasoline prices this year has led to significant gains in the Hybrid/Electric Vehicles sector.

Conversely, Biomass has fallen in terms of industry sentiment – due in large part to the impact of rising raw materials costs. One-third (33%) of industry respondents pointed to Biomass as the sector most negatively affected by the high cost of raw materials – with more than half (51%) specifically pointing to ethanol production.

As respondent CO206739 writes, “Corn Ethanol producers have cut back their expansion plans because of the high cost of steel for construction, and the high cost of corn for feedstock. The companies that built facilities years ago have the advantage on capital costs, but they are suffering from high feedstock costs and the uncertainties of market conditions.”

Customer Demand for Alternative Energy

The survey also focused on customer demand for alternative energy products, and Hybrid/Electric Vehicles (Net Score = +86) are clearly seen as having the biggest demand increase in the next year with Solar (+79) and Wind (+78) products also garnering big jumps in customer interest.

But the most telling findings were when we asked industry respondents to rate the demand for their own company’s alternative energy products and services.

Here’s what we found:

Leading Companies

We also asked industry respondents to tell us which alternative energy companies they believe are at the forefront of their respective market sectors. Here’s what they told us:

Solar Sector: First Solar (FSLR), SunPower (SPWR) Wind Sector: General Electric (GE), Vestas Hybrid/Electric Sector: Tesla Motors, Energy Conversion Devices (ENER)

The takeaway from this Alternative Industry survey is that Solar continues to burn up the charts and the momentum behind Wind Power is now blowing stronger than ever.

Investors take note — in the midst of a severe worsening of the U.S. economy the Alternative Energy sector continues to ride high.

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Here at ChangeWave, we leverage our expertise in industry and company level research to identify emerging trends, technologies and companies best-positioned to capitalize in today’s market.
To read more articles and to find out more about ChangeWave, visit: http://blog.changewave.com

With the energy crisis at hand, more people have become conscious of being more environmental friendly and more people are starting to change their habits.

It will take much longer for societies to embrace green habits and change their way of thinking, but progress is being made. Right now, green marketing doesn’t work because it doesn’t clearly explain how a product or service will benefit the consumer, but as more marketers study the motives and driving factors of green products and services, they will find methods that work.

As they do, we will begin to see the next bull market in the green industry.

Since 2001, the wind industry has grown 339 percent; the solar industry has grown a whopping 579 percent; both are projected to continue their blockbuster double-digit annual growth into the foreseeable future. In contrast, the Dow Jones average has climbed just 2 percent during the same period, and is only barely hanging on at those levels because of the artificial boost produced by talk of the bailout.

This green economy reminds me of the computer revolution in the 80’s. It took about a decade for consumers to realize the benefits of the personal computer, and then with the introduction of the Internet, the entire computer industry took off. However, just like the computer industry, not all companies involved will succeed. Dell and Gateway were the ones that shined during the 1990’s as many other companies failed. The green economy will see many new companies enter the market and many will fail while few have tremendous success.

This is why it will be important to invest in many different companies in the green economy. There will be a lot of great technologies that come out of it, but only a few will become “the standard”. If you have your money diversified, you will have a greater chance of catch the next Dell stock.

So be ready. Be ready for the green industry to pick up Wall Street and carry it on its back.

*This is not financial or tax advice, please see your financial advisory before making a decision on investments

Nearly 1.4 billion people in the World suffer from extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is defined as someone who cannot match living on $1.25 per day in the U.S. in 2005. This definition has been adopted by the United Nations and the World Bank to evaluate the World’s economic status.¹

How many people do you know that live on $1.25 per day? What is more, how many people living on $1.25 per day can afford $4.00 per gallon gasoline? The cost of crude oil influences virtually every consumer because transportation is central to everything from commuting to work to purchasing canned goods from the grocery store. Energy costs suppress the poor even further because these costs represent a larger fraction of total income.

Many technologies show promise as an alternative to traditional hydrocarbon fuels. Which technologies, however, are both efficient and available to the poor? The World’s energy problems are closely linked to poverty and great opportunity exists to contribute. Otherwise, we may have the same problem with the cost of solar energy 50 years from now.

1. “The bottom 1.4 billion” The Economist, 2008 (388), 8595, p. 70.

From the engineering of electronic fuel injection to numerous piston and valve configurations, the combustion engine has evolved considerably over the last several decades. With incredible time and money invested, it’s hard to neglect the potential for enhanced fuel efficiency on this existing technology platform – there is still much room for improvement.

Entirely new forms of alternative energy must compete with sophisticated combustion engine technology. The infrastructure that supports gasoline driven automobiles is also comprehensive. For these reasons and others, the next generation of more efficiency and “clean” automobiles could be derived from existing combustion engine technology. Hybrids and natural gas driven cars are both examples. Further, new and unrelated discoveries often bring about solutions to previously unsolved problems. It’s not too late to revisit old technology, but from a different point-of-view altogether.