The Magicbox

The Magicbox a.k.a the Greenbox, developed by a group of chemists, is another cool way to reduce GHG's. The Magicbox traps 95% of the gases emitted by automobiles. Once it fills up it can be exchanged for an empty one. The gases from the old box can be converted into biofuel. The big question is whether the Magicbox will ever see light of the day...

And we are supposed be scared?

It is funny when oil companies act like they are under siege from the growing ethanol business. Even though bio-fuels are quite a few years from making an impact, about a week ago the OPEC chief warned the west about researching on Bio-fuels. Now the US oil refineries are almost saying the same thing except in a subtler fashion. Bio-fuels or no bio-fuels, I have no illusions about oil prices coming down in the near future. Therefore, it is my belief that such warnings are going to be counterproductive. Just like the oil producing nations and oil companies are looking for their demand security, the rest of the world should look after its energy security.

The Art of Long Term Thinking

One of the most beautiful paragraphs that I have seen...

The global energy industry provides a great example of the need for long-term thinking. It took coal nearly 100 years to bypass traditional energy sources (such as the burning of wood) as the world's primary energy source. It then took oil nearly 100 years to surpass coal usage. Natural gas has been more than 100 years in development and now represents about 20% of global primary energy use. Similarly, it will take new renewables, such as wind, solar and biofuels, 10, 20, or 30 years to catch up with coal, oil and natural gas. That's the reality of energy markets and one of the reasons why long-term thinking is so critical in the realm of clean tech.

Check the entire article. Clean Tech and the Art of Long Term Thinking.

Renewable Energy Key to Addressing Declining Oil Reserves

In an survey conducted by KPMG, oil and gas executives believe that renewable energy sources are necessary to alleviate the problems of declining oil reserves. Here is the article.

Some key points from this article are...

• In the KPMG survey, which polled 553 financial executives from oil and gas companies in April 2007, twenty-five percent of the respondents said that at least 75 percent of government funding into energy should be directed at the renewable sources sector and a further 44 percent said that at least 50 percent of funding should be allocated in the same way. These feelings stem from the overwhelming majority, or 82 percent, citing declining oil reserves as a concern.
• Sixty percent of the executives believe that the trend of declining oil reserves is irreversible. And, when asked about the impact of emerging markets, such as China, will have on declining oil reserves, almost 70 percent of the executives said that it would lead the situation to worsen.
• Sixty-five percent of the respondents say that while they believe global warming is occurring, it is a natural weather cycle, and 11 percent say that they do not believe it is occurring. Just under a quarter believe CO-2- induced global warming is occurring.

US to add 3000MW of Wind Power in 2007

The US is in on track to increase its Renewable Energy Portfolio from wind by 25% for the year 2007. Already one of the leaders in generating energy from clean sources in the US, Texas alone will account for two thirds of this capacity. How does Texas do it?

George Bush as the Governor of Texas signed a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (RPS) into law in the year 1999. The RPS apparently uses market mechanisms (whatever that is!) to ensure that a growing percentage of electricity through clean energy sources.

Canadian Renewable Energy Initiative

With all the cold weather in their country it is easy to think that Canadians are probably least concerned about global warming. However, there are already Canadian government programs in place to drive clean energy sources into the mainstream. Here is an example. The Ontario government is willing to pay 7 times more than the cost of power generated through coal fired plants. Even if these costs will be eventually passed on to the consumer, I believe the initiative shows the will to look in a new direction and a deep understanding that global warming is indeed manmade.

Canada

Slowly but steadily I am getting ready for a lot of changes in my life. In about 2 weeks at this time I will be at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada. While I am looking forward to the excitement an intense MBA program has to offer, I am not really happy about living away from my wife in a different country for a year. However, this is the path I have chosen… The last few days I have spent a considerable amount of my time taking different personality tests, to better understand my strengths and weaknesses, as I prepare for a career in business. I found these 3 tests to be particularly interesting. BCII: the Business Career Interest Inventory will help you discover what your interests in business work are. MPRP: the Management and Professional Rewards Profiles will help you prioritize what really is motivating to you in your work. MPAP: the Management and Professional Abilities Profile will help you identify your top abilities in business work. Here is a highlight of my interests, strengths and weaknesses as identified these tests. It is important to understand that the accuracy of these tests is dependent on my ability to have a good understanding of myself.
Interests
You have a strong interest in Application of Technology, one of the basic activities in business work. You take a systematic, engineering-like approach to solving problems and understanding systems and processes -- regardless of whether you've ever studied engineering. You feel comfortable with the "language" of technology and like to know how things work, and you probably enjoy using technology both in your work and outside it. You may want to express this interest by working in businesses that involve technology, either as a product or as an integral part of the services they provide.
Abilities
You have a number of strengths, including:
· Comfort with Differences: Comfortable and effective in relating to people from many different backgrounds and cultures.
· Creative Thinking: Able to think creatively, generating new ideas and approaches to situations.
· Merit-orientation: Judges ideas and people on merit alone, without bias or favoritism.
· Openness to Criticism: Accepts critical feedback without becoming defensive.
·Projection of Confidence: Projects self-confidence, even in uncertain and difficult situations.
·Resilience: Handles pressure and stress well.
·Respect for Others: Respectful of other people's points of view, as well as their ttime and priorities.
·Self-control: Does not act or speak impulsively; does not easily lose composure.
·Sensitivity and Tact: Sensitive and tacful: promotes an atmosphere of good feeling and mutual consideration.
·Teamwork: A team player: cooperative, works well as part of a group.
·Written Communication: A good writer, expresses ideas and positions clearly.
·Work Ethic: Has a strong work ethic, willing to make sacrifices to achieve important goals.
You also recognize some weaknesses in your business skill set:
· Comfort with Risk: Takes risks when appropriate, isn't afraid to innovate and experiment.
· Day-to-Day Responsibility: Takes good care of the day-to-day aspect of running things.
· Delegating: Delegates appropriately and effectively.
· Influence: Can influence and persuade other people, even without direct authority.
· Motivational Ability: Understands how to motivate different kinds of people to do their best work.
· Power-orientation: Comfortable asserting authority and using power.
· Recognition of Opportunity: Recognizes new opportunities and acts to take advantage of them.
· Sociability: Socially venturesome and self-assured; forms new relationships easily and works to maintain them.
We will come back in a year’s time and see how good I was at understanding myself. On a side note I am going to try very hard at not making this an MBA experience blog. There are enough of these going around…