Whenever I need a crash course in keeping a message succinct, Ray Wang (with Constellation Research) and Vala Afshar (avec Salesforce) drop in to give me a lesson — and to remind me that I tend to run off at the mouth sometimes! Here’s our latest segment for DisrupTV, in…
Energy
SolarCity Founders Charge Up African Energy Venture
This article is drawn from the Energy Weekly newsletter, running Thursdays. Subscribe here. The co-founders of SolarCity, Lyndon Rive and Peter Rive, are back on the grid. The brothers, who left their former solar energy services company in mid-2017 after it became part of the Tesla Energy division, were this week…
Energy
For Google’s Latest Energy Innovation, Look To Taiwan
This article is drawn from the Energy Weekly newsletter, running Thursdays. Subscribe here. Tech giant Google has disclosed so many solar and wind projects over the past decade that I’ve personally lost count. For you statisticians out there, the estimate is more than 30. The deal it announced earlier this week…
Entrepreneurship
Listen Up, Won’t You?
Want to know what makes me tick? Why I write my fingers off, even on weekends when I could be reading trashy, mindless novels instead? I was privileged to be an early guest on legendary marketer Christopher Lochhead’s insanely irreverent podcast, “Follow Your Different.” During the conversation, we chat with a…
Energy
7 hopeful power prognostications for 2019
In my mind, year-ahead predictions by journalists like me are somewhat akin to corporate sustainability commitments — the best are aspirational, yet grounded in some practical reality. Some are hopeful, others resigned. With that, here are some thoughts crowding my brain on the precipice of this new year. 1. Anticipate…
Sustainability
Amazon, Microsoft Are Making Artificial Intelligence Real
Species identification schemes. Early warning systems informed by sensors and big data. Predictive population modeling. Looks like a job for artificial intelligence! It felt appropriate to weigh in with a year-end riff about a topic that’s guaranteed to spark debate at holiday parties — when and how to use AI for…
Sustainability
Amazon Digs Renewables, But Progress Is Elusive
Is the world’s largest provider of cloud computing services falling down on its 2014 pledge to one day power all of its data centers entirely with renewable energy? That’s the question posed recently by an investigative report in The Information (subscription required, but you can snag a free trial), citing…
Sustainability
Why You Should Pay More Attention to Bloom Energy
When rocket scientist K.R. Sridhar founded the technology startup that would become Bloom Energy in 2001 — and famously introduced its electricity-generating “box” to the world in 2010 during a “60 Minutes” segment — his inspiration was a photograph snapped from outer space illustrating the vast swaths of planet Earth…
Sustainability
Kickstarter To Designers: Consider The Environment
Genusee, an eyeglasses maker that fashions its frames from water bottles sourced in Flint, Michigan. Huskee Cup, which brews up reusable mugs made out of coffee husk waste. EcoTruck, a toy made from a wood-hybrid material that is far tougher than competitive options. All three of these designers turned to…
Entrepreneurship
Dreaming of Starting Your Own Biz in 2019? Start Here
Tis the season for year-end reflections and year-ahead resolutions. In that vein, I’m making a shameful, Black Friday plug for Niche Down, the book I co-authored earlier this year for legendary marketing guru and podcast conversationalist, Christopher Lochhead. I know I’m biased, but if you’re thinking of starting your own…