Nesmith's Notes

Entries for April, 2006

10 days that unexpectedly changed America

Apr.14, 2006 in Economy, History, Science, Technology, USA politics

The excellent series on the History Channel, 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America, continues to be very educational and quite entertaining. Watching these 10 events, I feel compelled to add and question if perhaps other unexpected events would be in my top 10. Their events are: Massacre at Mystic Shays’ Rebellion: America’s First Civil War [...]

Massachusetts’ Bold Healthcare Initiative

Apr.11, 2006 in Economy, Healthcare, Management, USA politics

or overstepping the boundaries of government? Which of these best describes the recent “Healthcare for All” bill supported by an overwhelming majority of the Massachusetts Legislature (154 to 2 in the House and 37 to 0 in the Senate) and Govenor Mitt Romney? The plan’s objective is one shared by all concerned about the unisured, [...]

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Top Venture Investor Goes Green – Los Angeles Times

Apr.11, 2006 in Energy

Kleiner Perkins sets aside $100 million to invest in “Green Technologies”, Top Venture Investor Goes Green – Los Angeles Times.� Does this mean the tides will now turn in favor of investing in this critical area?� Oil at almost $69 a barrel today still does not by itself support most of the acclaimed alternative energy [...]

Myogen GlaxoSmithKline agree to joint investment up to $100 million

Apr.05, 2006 in Biotechnology, Colorado

GlaxoSmithKline to invest in Myogen Westminster-based Myogen Inc. said Monday it will receive as much as $100 million from GlaxoSmithKline, as the drugmakers work together on two medicines that treat a lung condition. Both drugs target pulmonary arterial hypertension, which affects about 200,000 people and, when untreated, can lead to heart failure.

  

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      • Cisco, Itron Team Up for Grid Communications
        Cisco and Itron are joining forces to go after the smart grid together. The companies announced a somewhat far-reaching agreement under which the two will work to develop IP-based communication standards for the smart grid. Itron will then bundle and resell Cisco's technology. In short, what you have is an alliance between a company (Cisco) with experie […]
      • The Future of Sustainable Paint Manufacturing
        "You can have a Model T in any color, as long as it's black."  The automotive world has come a long way since Henry Ford made this statement while introducing the revolutionary Model T Ford in 1908.  Today, paint color and quality both play major roles in car-buying decisions. However, automotive paint is not just about looks. It is also the v […]
      • Recurve Gets New CEO, Hones Its Strategy
        Recurve, the energy efficiency retrofitter and software developer, is getting a retrofit itself. The company has hired Andy Leventhal as its new CEO, replacing Pratap Mukherjee. Leventhal co-founded Planet Metrics, a carbon accounting company, in 2007, and sold it off to Parametric Technology in February.   The change in CEO will also usher in some organizat […]
      • The Problem With Ethanol, California’s New EE Standard, and More
        Beware the sticker price. Propel Fuels, which wants to build 75 alternative fuel gas stations in California, unveiled one in Oakland yesterday, according to several news reports. The company already operates stations in Oakland and Seattle. One of the big problems with ethanol has been the availability of pumps dispensing E85, the 85 percent ethanol/15 perce […]
      • The Biggest Green Market? Seven Reasons Why It’s Green IT
        Over the past few weeks, I've had a number of meetings with engineers, executives and investors and such, and I keep coming away with the same conclusion. The fastest-growing and arguably most attractive segment in alternative energy and energy efficiency lies in hardware, software and networking equipment. Yep, green IT. Part of the conclusion is a his […]
      • JDSU, an Optical Giant, Enters the CPV Market
        The concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) market has been long on promise and short on results.  But there have been a few hopeful signs of late.Kleiner Perkins saw fit to invest $130 million into CPV systems vendor Amonix.  And shortly after that fund raise, Cogentrix announced a 30-megawatt project with Amonix.  That's easily the largest CPV project in the […]
      • With Arch Rock Purchase, Cisco Takes Aim at Silver Spring Networks
        The brewing competition between Cisco and Silver Spring Networks just lost its subtlety. The networking giant today bought Arch Rock, a privately held company that specializes in standards-based mesh networking technology for monitoring data centers and, more importantly, for connecting different assets on the grid (namely, AMI networking solutions). Yesterd […]
      • Independent Test Exonerates PGE Meters, Blames Customer Service
        The Structure Group, an independent organization retained by the California Public Utilities Commission to examine the smart meters installed by Pacific Gas & Electric in Northern California, issued its report today. The meters worked. Increases in bills were largely due to a 2009 heat wave, which caused air conditioning use to spike. Structure also did […]
      • In California, Large and Small Generators Tussle Over Grid Rules
        To help California reach its renewable portfolio standard goals, The California Independent System Operator (the ISO) may be aggravating a rivalry between large- and small-scale renewable energy producers. The Small Generator Interconnection Procedure (SGIP), the ISO's proposed rules governing grid connection for five megawatt to twenty megawatt project […]
      • Roundup: Coda Goes to Hawaii, Ford Adopts Liquid-Cooled Batteries, and More
        Coda Automotive, the Sino-American car company coming out with an all-electric sedan later this year, said it will bring its cars to Hawaii in the third quarter of next year. The company is already slated to bring out a limited number of cars to California later this year. Hawaii is an interesting choice. The state is seen as a growth market for PV panels, w […]
      • Ashton Stark: VW Beetle Turned Into Electric Car By 14-Year-Old
        It will be another two years before Ashton Stark can get his driver's license, but that's not stopping the 14-year-old from looking to the future -- and in more ways than one. With a keen sense of green and a little engineering savvy, Ashton succeeded in transforming his grandfather's 1972 Volkswagen Beetle into a cleaning running, all-electri […]
      • Dennis Whittle: Growing AND Greening
        Historically, richer countries have grown by relying on power sources and technologies that generate massive amounts of the greenhouse gases that are causing global warming. This has posed a serious dilemma: should poorer countries stop improving the lives of their people to avoid generating the additional greenhouse gases that would cause massive damage to […]
      • Butter Excess May Be Able To Fuel Cars
        A recent study into the potential use of surplus butter has stated there is a possibility it could be used to make biodiesel fuel. Read more: Butter Car Fuel, Biodiesel Butter, Butter Fuel, Green Technology, Car Fuel Butter, Butter Biodiesel, Butter Gasoline, Gasoline Butter, Green News […]
      • SUGAR Volt: Boeing Team Designs Aircraft That Burns 70% Less Fuel
        We recently reported on a program led by NASA that was aiming to green the future of air transportation, and now Boeing -- along with their teammates General Electric and Georgia Tech -- are following suit with their just-revealed innovative SUGAR Volt concept which is driven by an electric battery gas turbine hybrid propulsion system that can reduce overall […]
      • Ecuador National Park Uses Motion Sensors To Photograph Rare Species (VIDEO)
        In this video from Reuters, Yasuni National Park in Ecuador has installed cameras equipped with heat and motion sensors to photograph unsuspecting wildlife that walk into view. Using them to capture over 30,000 images, researchers have discovered new and rare species in this particular area of the Amazon. The nearly 2.5-million-acre park is home to thousands […]
      • Bob Ostertag: Floods, Fires, Hipsters: Mission Accomplished
        And so it unfolds: Record flooding in Pakistan displaces millions, kills 1200, and cholera is starting to spread. It is 106.3°F in the Ukraine. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev reports that in 14 regions of Russia "practically everything is burning." A drought accompanying the heat wave has ruined 25 million acres of grain (about the size of Kentu […]
      • Poo Power: VW Bug Runs On Methane Bio-Gas Or The Waste of 70 Homes
        POO POWER! GENeco, a waste treatment company in Bristol, UK set out to prove that bio-gas could be a reliable alternative transportation fuel, so they imported special equipment to help process their waste and upgraded a VW Bug to run on methane. Read more: Green Cars, Green Car, Green Vw Bug, Green Technology, Green Transportation, Methane Bio-Gas, VW Bug, […]
      • Julia Moulden: Yes, You Can Save the World at Work
        As much of the world suffers through a stifling summer, one corporate team is keeping close watch on the solar panels on their building's roof -- which quadrant is producing the most energy? It's a sign of things to come, and I want to share their story. But, first, a little background. When I began writing about the New Radicals, people who are pu […]
      • Smart Grids, Smarter H20, and Mad Science
        As IBM works towards smarter cities and a smarter planet, they've got to cover all of their bases: this means factoring in everything from water conservation, to health care, to energy and smart grids. But what is a smart grid anyway? While it sounds good to us we're not entirely sure what it is, so we checked in with IBM's resident mad scient […]
      • Louis Palmer: Solar Taxi Driver Plans Zero Emissions Race Around The World
        GENEVA — A Swiss inventor who last year circumnavigated the globe in a solar taxi says four teams will follow in his tire tracks next week. Louis Palmer says the teams from Australia, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland will fire up their electric vehicles Aug. 16 in Geneva in an effort to race around the world in 80 days without producing any carbon emissi […]