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Category: Climate Change

Time to Stop and Smell the Absurdities

Time to Stop and Smell the Absurdities

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

It was something of a travel week for us, and a good time to at long last look at articles in the ‘save for later’ pile, which we did: stopped to smell the absurdities.

Incandescent lightbulbs were outlawed recently in favor of the longer lasting and supposedly more climate friendly LED bulbs, but according to greenmatters, LED Bulbs May Not Be as Great as We Thought — Studies Show Health and Environmental Risks, reporting that “Per a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers from the University of Exeter have noted various health and environmental risks that come with LED lights. According to The Guardian, LED bulbs are becoming increasingly more common, and even though they are more energy efficient, they emit more blue light radiation”…which is harmful to human health and the environment.

What to speak of the fact that they arguably create more of an environmental hazard when it comes to their disposal. Read More...

The Heat of Summer: Cue Up the Global Warming Warnings

The Heat of Summer: Cue Up the Global Warming Warnings

Photo by unsplashed

Since we’re in the heat of summer in most parts of the world, it’s a good opportunity to address climate change. For the record, according to Weather.com, last “July (was) on track to be the coolest in the U.S. since 2015, according to Todd Crawford, Director of Meteorology at Atmospheric G2.” Although not many of us were around to experience those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, to quote Nat King Cole, re last summer, how quickly we forget.

 

CNN has been all over ‘climate change’ and recently hosted the founder (whom CNN misidentified as the co-founder) of the Weather Channel, climatologist John Coleman. Read More...

What Do Quicky Vegas Weddings and VC Funding Have in Common?

What Do Quicky Vegas Weddings and VC Funding Have in Common?

Image by Dariusz Sankowski from Pixabay

Back in 2010, Mark Suster penned a blog post entitled Invest in Lines, Not Dots and like many investors, Suster has sat on both sides of the table. It a must read for entrepreneurs, especially if you plan on raising money from investors, now or any time in the not-too-distant future, or ever. It’s also a great explanation of the importance of establishing relationships with investors before you need the money – and gives you something of an idea of a good investor’s mindset.

Why can’t investors simply understand what a monster company you’re building and just write the bloody check?

As Suster points out, “We want to make sure we’re in love. This sometimes frustrates entrepreneurs who just want to “get back to running the business.” But if you understand it you’ll see that it is perfectly rational and it should also influence how you form relationships with investors. And remember, if we get married you’re stuck with us, too.” Read More...

Eco-Friendly? Sustainable? Things that Make You Go ‘Hmmm.’

Eco-Friendly? Sustainable? Things that Make You Go ‘Hmmm.’

And thank you, C+C Music Factory.

‘Sustainable,’ ‘circular economy,’ and ‘environmentally conscious’ are definitely practically de rigueur among entrepreneurs these days and we are totally on the same page. In fact, we’ve been composting for years. But are products et al that people call sustainable, truly sustainable – or eco friendly. There are just a few points/examples of things that make you go hmmm that we’d like to share as a sort of nudge to you, and/or to provoke something of a head-scratching moment. Pay attention: science can sometimes be something of a shifting target:

  Read More...

The Earthquake in Chile: A Parable for a Green World

The Earthquake in Chile: A Parable for a Green World

The reference is to a novel by Heinrich von Kleist, where nothing happens the way one would expect, and all things are not what they seem.

Jenny Fielding, Managing Director of Techstars New York City Accelerator, which recently selected its latest batch of cohorts, penned a piece (New World, New Focus. How Application Trends at Techstars NYC Point to a Changing World) about the shift in focus of the entrepreneurs, given the current climate. And always important for founders to look to what the problems are, find the white space, and take it from there.

Speaking of climate, much attention has been given in the past few years to climate change. As always, important to look around, see what the problems are and find the white space. Glaringly obvious this past week were the events in Texas, when a devastating cold snap caused the windmills to freeze and the power grid to fail. Read More...