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1. Cali Cleantech Investment, Jobs Leapfrog U.S.
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2. Green movers say plastic beats cardboard (boxes) -- but when will one move to Portland?
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3. BrightView Brightens Up Solar Production with $6M in Funding
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4. "I'm Not a Paper Towel" Dish Towel
Cali Cleantech Investment, Jobs Leapfrog U.S.
Josie Garthwaite - Big Green
Lest our imaginations run wild, let’s look at the hard facts. As we’ve noted before, clean technology investment hit a record $3.3 billion last year. According to the Next 10 report, the California Green Innovation Index, California registered more patents for clean technologies than any other state from 2002 to 2007. Grid-connected solar capacity grew by 41 percent from 2006 to 2007, contributing to a green jobs-creation rate that’s increasing 10 times faster than total job growth. (Data from 2008, when more than 10 solar thermal companies geared up for major projects in the Mojave Desert, might show even more growth.)
Another factor in the creation of 1.5 million jobs: California residents and companies with lower energy bills had cash to spend on other things. 
Given that President Barack Obama’s plan for reviving the U.S. economy centers on a Green New Deal, California’s numbers would appear to make it a model for the nation. Crucially, the state’s GDP has continued to grow while per-capita emissions have gone down (total emissions, while rising, have slowed in recent years).
But California has some of its own catching up to do — especially when it comes to fuel economy. According to Next 10, the state has more alt-fuel vehicle registrations than any other state, and the Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento metropolitan areas rank among the top ten markets for hybrids. Yet behind all those shiny new cars are highways choked with gas guzzlers: The most recent data shows California’s average fuel economy (19.9 mpg) lagging behind the U.S. as a whole (20.1 mpg). President Obama’s push for the EPA to let California enforce tighter fuel economy standards, then, couldn’t have come too soon.
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco experts at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
Green movers say plastic beats cardboard (boxes) -- but when will one...
Shelby Wood, The Oregonian - Eco-biz
BrightView Brightens Up Solar Production with $6M in Funding
David Ehrlich - Big Green
The cash comes from Israel Cleantech Ventures and Germany’s Hasso Plattner Ventures. Glen Schwaber, a partner at Israel Cleantech Ventures, has joined BrightView’s board.
BrightView also named Eyal Harel to the chairman’s seat. Harel previously served as co-president of Israel’s Orbotech, a supplier of high-speed automated optical inspection systems for printed circuit board and flat-panel display manufacturing.
BrightView hasn’t released any details of its solar manufacturing technology, saying in a statement only that it addresses some “key production gaps.” The company said the funding will allow it to introduce its first system to the market this year.
This looks like one of the first cleantech investment for Hasso Plattner, but Israel Cleantech Ventures already has a number of cleantech firms in its portfolio, including Tel Aviv-based Pythagoras Solar. Pythagoras is equally sketchy in the details department, saying on its web site only that it’s aiming “to combine software models, optic design, semiconductor processes, materials science, and mass manufacturing techniques” to build cost-effective solar products. Pythagoras raised $10 million in a Series A round of funding last February.
BrightView said its systems are designed to enable solar cell manufacturers to maximize production efficiency, indicating that it plans to license its technology or sell equipment to larger manufacturers, rather than go head-to-head with the likes of industry leader Applied Materials, or some of the newly formed powerhouses.
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"I'm Not a Paper Towel" Dish Towel
jchait - Home & Garden
This is too funny. BUT actually clever and makes a good point. I haven’t bought paper towels in years. There’s just no point when you can use dish towels instead, over and over. Cloth towels save paper production energy, trees, and landfill space. Plus you save scads of cash by choosing cloth. The bad news is the design could be WAY more stylish, but I think they may have been aiming for an old school country look.
I think this would make a great gift set when paired with my old favorite, the I am Not a Paper Cup Reusable Mug.
I love this darn cup.
What do you think? Are you still using paper towels when cloth will do the job?
+ I’m Not A Paper Towel Dish Towel via BlueQ
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