By Jeffrey Berlin •
September 14, 2009
Even a year gone since the failure of Lehman, fundamental questions remain regarding the core underlying assumptions of our financial system.
Though currently derivatives trading and black boxes appear out of favour, what will replace them in terms of helpful and productive uses of capital still has yet to be determined. This question was what the Conference on Social Capital Market’s, or SoCap09 tried to give some structure to; while the trend towards sustainable investments and long-term ROI seems to have taken the place of actively managed funds seeking 20x returns.
By Jeffrey Berlin •
September 12, 2009
Even a year gone since the failure of Lehman, fundamental questions remain regarding the core underlying assumptions of our financial system. Though currently derivatives trading and black boxes appear out of favour, what will replace them in terms of helpful and productive uses of capital still has yet to be determined. This question was what the Conference on Social Capital Market’s, or SoCap09 tried to give some structure to; while the trend towards sustainable investments and long-term ROI seems to have taken the place of actively managed funds seeking 20x returns.
By Jeffrey Berlin •
September 6, 2009
Even a year gone since the failure of Lehman, fundamental questions remain regarding the core underlying assumptions of our financial system. Though currently derivatives trading and black boxes appear out of favour, what will replace them in terms of helpful and productive uses of capital still has yet to be determined. This question was what the Conference on Social Capital Market’s, or SoCap09 tried to give some structure to; while [...]
By Ian Rogoff •
May 28, 2009
Editor’s Note: The is a guest contribution by Ian Rogoff, Chairman of the Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization, and Chairman and CEO of The Helio Group (parent company to HelioPower). This is the sixth post in a series from the CEO’s of major solar companies. You can follow the complete series here.
There is a long overdue debate underway in industry and political circles regarding the merits [...]
By Alan Smith •
April 3, 2009
A new way to treat wood has trees back in the limelight: a hardwood’s reliability that even a rain forest mahogany tree can love.
Check out the world’s first heavy traffic road bridge made from Accoya® wood. The bridge, located in Sneek in the Netherlands, is “the first wooden bridge in the world that can support the heaviest load class of 60 tons”. At this week’s Wall Street Green Trading Summit, a panel on forestation introduced a new way of [...]
By Alan Smith •
April 2, 2009
The longer I am here at the Wall Street Green Trading Summit, the less this feels like anything to do with environmentalism. At some point, when does off-setting stop being feasible, and when does carbon reduction become the name of the game?
By Alan Smith •
April 1, 2009
The summit is over for today, but I wanted to throw some concluding thoughts out after an afternoon spent discussing good business models for producing alternative energy and for overhauling our current electrical grid.
By Alan Smith •
April 1, 2009
Excuse Me, Waiter? What Year is this Carbon?
By Reenita Malhotra •
October 15, 2008
After another tumultuous day in the market with the worst one-day percentage declines since the crash of 1987, addressing the state of the U.S. Economy was supposed to be foremost for both candidates in an effort to win the votes of undecided and independent voters. Advisers for each candidate said that he would use the final debate to lay out his vision for the country and promote his economic policies while drawing differences with his opponent.
By Reenita Malhotra •
October 15, 2008
The failure of Lehman Brothers is seen as the last straw that broke the credit market. The financial markets have been in a state of complete disarray ever since the U.S. Government allowed Lehman Brothers to file for bankruptcy on September 15th 2008 instead of intervening to save it as it had done with Bear Sterns and later with the insurance company, American International Group.
Can a cap and trade system for greenhouse gas emissions harness market forces to address climate change? As I noted on Monday, that’s the thesis of Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn’s new book Earth: The Sequel. To support this claim, Krupp and Horn focus on the innovative ecopreneurial efforts happening around the world in the broad field of clean technology. From thin-film solar to algae biodiesel to an Alaskan ice palace powered (and kept frozen) by geothermal energy, Earth: The Sequel tells the stories of scientists, business people, and outright dreamers experimenting with both current incarnations, and the next generation, of renewable energy technologies. A few of these companies include:
Of course, the technologies under development by the companies profiled in Earth: The Sequel aren’t cheap; in almost every case, major investors, such as Vinod Khosla and John Doerr, have backed these start-ups with significant funding. At one level, some might argue that the market is already working: capital is flowing to promising ideas.
