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Subscribe- On Marketplace, Philanthropy consultant Lucy Bernholz discusses three buzzwords we'll hear in 2010 related to philanthropy. Her top two philanthropy buzzwords for 2010 are impact investing and B Corporations.
- The problems of buildings being ready to handle the smart grid is one issue to tackle as it rolls out. Another may be the bottleneck that lack of broadband access will present to a future U.S. smart grid.
- BASF developed a biodegradable film that can be used as shrink wrap and linings on paper cups. It will be available in 2010 and is made of polylactic acid or PLA.
- Biofuels may have another hurdle to face, even as the industry moves away from food-based feedstocks and toward algae. A government report found that biofuel production could tax water resources.
- We're not sure how that affects chemicals made from simple plant sugar or glucaric acid, which is created by oxidizing glucose, being developed at University of Montana. Apparently, the Department of Energy thinks they are one of 12 building block chemicals that can be converted to high-value, bio-based chemicals or materials. That's because "it's a biodegradable, environment-neutral chemical that could be used in everyday materials."
- LED bulbs are more energy efficient. A life-cycle analysis determined that production of incandescent bulbs and compact florescent ones uses as much as five times more energy than making LEDs.
- It looks as if "clean coal" might actually be a reality (contrary to what some ads say.) In Idaho, the state Department of Environmental Quality issued a permit to a $2-billion clean-coal gasification fertilizer plant near American Falls. The company plans to separate carbon dioxide during its process and then ship it to Wyoming where it will be pumped underground to help with the extraction of natural gas. The plant would be the first in the nation to have enforceable greenhouse gas emission limit.
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