Craig Rubens | posted on August 26, 2008

Last week, Solazyme CEO Jonathan Wolfson said confidently that his synthetic biology startup would be able to produce millions of gallons of biofuel from algae within three years. That confidence could have been fueled by a large, $45.4 million Series C round of funding that the company has raised, according toPEHub.com. …read full discussion

Jeremy Jacquot | posted on August 20, 2008

The next big cleantech innovation may, ironically, come from a company that thinks small. Nanotechnology, a multidisciplinary field of applied science that operates at the atomic or molecular level, is increasingly making the leap from the lab …read full discussion

Katie Fehrenbacher | posted on August 19, 2008

The 42 U.S. President, Bill Clinton delivered a top-10 laundry list of actions the U.S. government should take to help solve the energy crisis during a speech to kick off theNational Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas on Monday night. …read full discussion

Craig Rubens | posted on August 16, 2008

This week, Democrats are simultaneously edging closer to the middle on domestic oil exploration and trying to coat McCain in Big Oil’s ill-gotten profits. Meanwhile McCain met with one of the biggest former oilmen, T. Boone Pickens. …read full discussion

Craig Rubens | posted on August 14, 2008

In a ridiculous publicity stunt that shows the lighter side of cow power, northern California utility PG&E and BioEnergy Solutions said today they will power a children’s train ride with renewable biogas, courtesy of California dairy cows, at the California State Fair this weekend in Sacramento. …read full discussion

NOTCOT | posted on August 14, 2008

Perfect way to spend a saturday? With good friends, old and new, surrounded by inspiration of all forms (zines, art, artists, designers, photographers, musicians)… in the world of OBEY Giant… as magically facilitated by Shepard Fairey’sStudio Number One, who graciously opened up their parking lot to set the scene for the first Simple Pleasures event, “an on-going series of cultural investigations” - This one was focused on zine culture, and in addition to many booths ~ there was an Obey raffle (5$ got you a tote bag of goodies and a chance to win some limited ed posters) ~ the delicious Green Truck lunch truck (amazing burgers, all organic and local, and runs on biodiesel) ~ bake sale of 1$ tempting sweets ~ and we got to kick back to tunes of the DJ Diabetic (Shepard Fairey) and Daedelus… oh and on mind blowing experiences, i got a tour/sneak peek of the studio space of Studio Number One, a chance to take in all the art and inspiration filling their walls… and even chat with Shepard Fairey in his incredible office (wall to wall art and books and toys)… peek at some upcoming works… and wander the Subliminal Projects Gallery downstairs as well… all in all, a phenomenally inspiring day all around. I can’t wait for Simple Pleasures 02! …read full discussion

Rachel Hobson | posted on August 14, 2008

When Austin clothing designer, Kathie Sever, and writer, Bernadette Noll, learned about Swap-O-Rama-Rama at last year’s Maker Faire, they were inspired. Not only did they see the environmental benefit of upcycling unwanted clothing, but they also appreciated the opportunity to get creative and make something their own. When they took that inspiration home to their families, they realized that a clothing swap didn’t have to be aimed just at adults. With schools heading back in session over the next month, the opportunity to extend their inspiration to other families was ripe. …read full discussion

Cory Doctorow | posted on August 14, 2008

John Joseph Adams sez,

 I’ve just launched the website for my new anthology, Seeds of Change. The stories aim to confront some of the pivotal issues facing our society today, such as racism, global warming, peak oil, technological advancement, and political revolution. It features original fiction from Tobias S. Buckell, Ken MacLeod, and Jay Lake, among others.You can read the complete text of three of the anthology’s nine stories on the website, in HTML, PDF, or Mobipocket format. There are excerpts available of the remaining six stories.

Other bonus features include interviews with the authors and further reading lists for people who’d like to learn more about the issues discussed in the stories. And finally, the site also features a book trailer which features a short dramatized excerpt of each story, along with original musical score (which you can also download as an instrumental MP3 track).

…read full discussion

Craig Rubens | posted on August 5, 2008

Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama laid out a vision of America’s energy future yesterday in a speech from Lansing, Mich., in the automotive heartland. Speaking at Michigan State University, Obama presented his New Energy for America Plan in which he added several new concrete goals for America’s energy future and reiterated a number of previous stances. …read full discussion

Dave | posted on August 4, 2008

Last night, Sioux Falls, SD, experienced a rather weird and rare weather phenomenon. It’s called a Convective Heat Burst.

My wife and I woke up at about 4 a.m. this morning to the sound of high winds and tree branches hitting the roof. I looked out the back window & saw that a large branch had fallen, so I went out to check to see if there was any damage. Stepping out the back door was like walking into a sauna — hot!
…read full discussion