glennrileymeyers.com

The “What Happened to the Methanol Economy?” Question

Glenn — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:58:21 +0000

The “What Happened to the Methanol Economy?” Question (via http://greenbuildingelements.com)

I posted this article yesterday on Clean Technica and am reposting here because it is an important subject and George Olah’s work is something of immense importance. Methanol was once a potential replacement for fossil fuels. Now it seems to have been relegated to the back shelves at the fuel library…

Earthworms, Anyone?

Glenn — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:04:43 +0000

Try Earthworms to Practice Sustainability in Action (via http://greenbuildingelements.com)

Want to put an organics recycling crew to work invigorating your lot? Try starting with a colony of worms. I came across this comment on the Twitter feed of Earthwormsinfo: “Starting small, my goal is to get 1000 households recycling with earthworms by the end of 2012. From there on we will think…

24/7 Energy from AORA CSP Hybrid Tulip System

Glenn — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:01:57 +0000

AORA hybrid Tulip CSP system provides 24/7 energy

Israeli CSP Pioneer AORA Launches Modular Tulip System in Almeria, Spain (via http://greenbuildingelements.com)

Scientists Develop Non-Eroding Surface Using Scorpion for Study

Glenn — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:54:59 +0000

null (via http://greenbuildingelements.com)

Harvest Power Provides Sustainable Solutions from Organic Waste

Glenn — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:00:03 +0000

Harvest Power Provides Sustainable Solutions from Organic Waste (via Clean Technica)

Glenn — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:53:16 +0000

New Material Shrilk Might Rival Plastic (via Clean Technica)

A speech from Simon Sinek on why people lead

Glenn — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:01:53 +0000

I came across this 18:00 presentation from Simon Sinek on TED. It is very worth the time as it challenges what many consider to be the correct formulas for success.

Test platform celebrating innovation launches

Glenn — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:49:49 +0000

Where there's no electricity put solar light bulbs to use, not kerosine: Photo: Nokero

A website has been launched that is worth page marking: ionINNOVATion

It reads as follows:

“There are some remarkable things taking place on this planet of ours, things that make the eyes open wide, make each of us more brilliant.

Welcome to this participatory community, a confluence of innovations, products, organizations, and people that contribute to the betterment of the planet and the life it hosts. Here we celebrate and share stories about solutions that rock, about energy that doesn’t make one cough, about sustainability and getting smart, about business models that slam the door on poverty, disease, and starvation.

Free subscription, voting rights on quarterly and annual Innovation awards. Each feature will measure the following rating system markers:

Sustainability Mark
Green Legacy
Employment Creation
Revenue Generation
You-lead, We-follow Effect
Inspiration/Innovation Factor

Each rating mark per category is 10 points; a top rating of 10 points in all categories = 60 points (extremely rare). Subscribers will then have the opportunity to submit their ratings and comments.

Initial Content: People, Products, Companies

George Nez builds roofs first & habitats that help mend poverty
Sunflower Lighting natural light that uses no power
Tough Stuff generates low-cost power
Bin’s Jute Mats put a Ghanaian village to work
Nokero’s solar light bulb by Stephen Katsaros
Eichelberger’s trash barns
Aquaponics trout fishing
SCIPs make great homes
Solaqua disinfects water in sub-Saharan Africa
Micromidas microbes make biodegradable plastic from organic waste, sans petroleum
Weed removal by goat
Cityscape Farms = rooftop gardens
Tjernlund Products move air and heat where its needed
Pedal-a-Watt makes homemade power

Take a look and see what you think. Your thought are most welcome. Once again, there is a lot of great work taking place out there needing to gain more notoriety!

Global 1000 Sustainability Leaders

Glenn — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:48:29 +0000

From Justmeans: Top 1000 Global Companies Powered by SmartView Force Rankings

Justmeans Sustainability Top 1000 List

Found: CSR Predictions for 2011

Glenn — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:50:06 +0000

From Alice Korngold:

“Now entering its third decade, CSR is at last stepping into the spotlight. CSR has moved from the corporate cubicle to the board room, onto the curricula of the world’s most prestigious MBA programs, and the agendas of the most prominent global CEO gatherings. Not having embarrassed myself with my 2010 forecast, here are my thoughts about CSR in 2011.

“In 2011, it will become clearer that the most effective way to enlist companies in CSR is to demonstrate the benefits of CSR to companies as well as communities–the win-win. Telling companies that they should do something, especially on moral grounds, is not a highly effective way to motivate deeply committed action, especially when the moral case to spend shareholder money is debatable. Confession: I have always balked at the term “responsibility” in CSR, since many have seen the term responsibility as a should rather than the win-win. I have used and favor the term Leveraging Good Will.

“I believe that in 2011 we will see more companies incorporating CSR business strategies because the win-win to business as well as the community will become more evident; there will be a continued move away from the should reason for involvement. This trend is part of larger social forces. These include, among others:

People have a greater appreciation of the power of markets. The Boomer generation that originally eschewed markets later participated in the largest economic boom and then the greatest economic debacle since the Great Depression. Market-oriented people are not should people; they have to be convinced by rational arguments.
The power of command and control ideologies has decreased over recent years, so people no longer give or volunteer because they are told to, but rather because they want to. Gone are the days of obligatory federated giving through the workplace. In are GlobalGiving, DonorsChoose, VolunteerMatch, and TapRoot, where people are directly involved in decisions about philanthropy, service, and conversations about making the world better. People like to be at companies where philanthropy and service are part of the conversation and the culture, and people can engage in a variety of ways.
With globalization and the media, the problems of the world are beamed into our homes, personal computers, and cell phones. We hold images of the victims of the Haiti earthquake right in our hands along with the means to help alleviate their starvation. We see the environmental and economic devastation caused by BP Deepwater Horizon. Everything is out in the open, and people care and vote with their consumer dollars.
The Millennials demand to participate in decision-making and improving their communities and the world. They expect to work in jobs that are meaningful and where their lifestyles are fulfilling. The best and the brightest are attracted to employers who are aligned with a similar world view.
People have greater respect for different cultures, their values, and their national autonomy. This is equalizing the give and take of trading relationships. Successful companies are those that recognize that they can be respectful partners with countries and individuals with whom they do business.
People have a growing awareness that every life matters, the future matters, and we all share the same Planet Earth. Shareholders are interested in dividend returns but also the world that their companies will leave for their children and grandchildren.

“The bottom line is that the world of empire, entitlement, and should is over. Going forward, more and more companies will engage in CSR–not because they should, but when it’s in the best interests of the company and its shareholders to invest in the environment so that the company has renewable resources to manufacture its goods in the future; foster economic development to ensure that workers and customers will thrive in robust communities; provide workplace safety, education, and health care to ensure that it has a capable and productive workforce; improve communities where the company has a presence in order to foster government and public relations; deal fairly with indigenous people in order to access natural and renewable resources that the company needs for its products; and build its reputation among customers and stakeholders by respecting society’s expectations with regard to the environment, human rights, and corporate ethics.

“As I have stressed in my CSR publications andconsulting in the past two decades, the fundamental beauty of CSR is that it is based on a win-win for the company and the community. As we move forward in 2011 and the coming decade, I predict that a) the case for CSR will become more and more focused on the benefits to companies as well as the community–the win-win; and b) companies will become more and more adept at leveraging good will as a core business strategy.”