Featured Blog Posts – March 2011 Archive (8)

New Mexico inventors were granted 14 patents last year for clean energy technology products. Ten states had more than 20 patents, according to the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index. This is one of those geeky statistics that environmentalists should pay attention to when promoting green jobs and the need for clean energy investment. Patents are another measure of an industry sector's health.

See…

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The NM Economic Development Department announced today that four Albuquerque companies - all manufacturing components for solar energy systems - will receive $250,555 to hire and train 31 new employees. The pay ranges from $21 to $42 an hour.

The money comes through the Job Training Incentive Program

Schott Solar will receive more than $80,000 for seven new positions working with its solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar power products at its Mesa del Sol…

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Oh,my. You have to hand it to the techie folks - they do have marvelous idea. Imagine never having to plug in your smart gadget again. Just plop the iPad, iPhone, HTC or Blackberry out in the sun for a little juice. A company called Wysips is proposing just that with a new thin film. The bennies… Continue

As spring unfolds and Earth Day draws near, it is worth taking a step back and looking at the complexity of "being green."

I don't know this guy Larry Bell from Forbes mag, but I'm supposing he's a climate change naysayer. Still, a recent press release about Bell's new book is intriguing and I think is good food for thought and debate. I'll be following up once I check out his book.

Here's an excerpt from the release:

"Larry Bell, weekly columnist for Forbes.com…

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New Mexicans looking for ways to help the Japanese citizens and communities impacted by the recent earthquake and tsunami can contact Davis Begay, honorary Consul General of Japan in Albuquerque through his website at www.jpnconsulalbuq.com.

“I have been receiving a large amounts of inquires on how to donate to Japanese citizens and Japan, plus updates since the earthquake, tsunami, and the radiation disaster,” Begay…

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Here's a novel idea: let high school math students tackle a very real world problem, such as what to do if Lake Powell water levels continue to decline, and award the winner $100,000. Dozens of schools around the nation participated in the M3 challenge hosted by Moody. Unfortunately, none of them were from New Mexico. But maybe NM educators can take a look at how this challenge was hosted and think about applying it to our own real world water dilemma - what to do if a long-term drought hits…

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As the water levels in the Ogallala Aquifer continue to decline, Happy, Tex. is increasingly unhappy.

Once again, there is a lot to be said for living within our water means. When a society can do that and still be economically successful, that's a win-win situation for a stable, sustainable civilization.

There's some debate about the benefits of eradicating salt cedar. Meanwhile, here's from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on recent efforts to remove this hardy non-native species. (It may be non-native, but it has now been around the Southwest as long as many New Yorkers or Los Angelino "new comers.")