The snow finally melted this spring but last night it was about 40°. That comes with the territory though. Mark Twain said “I reverently believe that the Maker who made us all makes everything in New England but the weather. I don’t know who makes that, but I think it must be raw apprentices in the weather-clerk’s factory who experiment and learn how…”
So, New England weather leaves a lot to talk about. But that could be said for just about everywhere these days. Most scientists think that weather patterns are changing. They call that global climate change. The bigger debate surrounds the influence of all our CO² production.
Regardless of the climate change argument, we know that our current energy situation is untenable. We need clean-tech innovation. That much is clear. If it turns out that all our billowing CO² has nothing to do with it, then at least we’ll have a better environment, physically and geopolitically.
Nevertheless, it remains a big challenge to build a clean-tech industry. There are new ideas and technologies. But investors remain allured by other shiny things (see LinkedIn’s big IPO).
Ipswich River Media is working with a new tech incubator designed to foster development and attract investment. We’re also serving as the co-chair of the Sustainability Forum to attract and educate the broader publics necessary to support this burgeoning new industry. We’re looking for practical solutions.
Today, for example, there’s news from a team of researchers down the road at M.I.T. They’ve succeeded in
reinventing the rechargeable battery by creating a liquid-flow design, suitable for electric vehicles that can be recharged as quickly as simply pumping gas. The new batteries involve a semi-solid, liquid electrolyte material which holds suspended positive and negative electrodes that provide needed electricity. When all the energy has been released simply replace it with fully charged “goo” – as quickly as you fill up at the pump.
And if that’s not enough to get you excited, consider this breakthrough idea in solar technology: a sun-powered bikini capable of charging all your remote devices.
