The February/ March 2007 edition of Plenty Magazine has a really good article called "The Plenty 20" by Danielle Wood.  You won’t find it online, so go pick up a copy.  Generally speaking, magazine lists have a tendency to be contrived, opinionated, and/or incomplete, but I thought The Plenty 20 was rather thorough.  The article profiled an Ohio-based company called Fiberstars (NASDAQ: FBST).  The U.S. government funded the research that became Fiberstars’ Efficient Fiber Optic Technology (EFO) with grants totaling about $13 million.  Now, its lights illuminate the Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta. 

How efficient are EFO lights?  Their efficiency is analogous to improving gas mileage in your car from 12 MPG to 50 MPG.  That’s efficient.  So efficient, these lights were used in the green Bill Clinton Presidential Library. 

EFO lights do not emit heat or ultraviolet rays, so they are perfect for museum or archival applications.  One 70-watt metal halide lamp, which connects to a fiber optic system, can equal the output of eight 50 watt bulbs.  Specifically in terms of efficiency, the EFO saves up to 80% on energy consumption, saves on maintenance (requires less work due to longer life), and saves one watt of HVAC for every three watts of lighting because the EFOs do not emit heat.  Not bad.  Further, Fiberstars EFO may reduce mercury emissions by up to 75% and their Reuse-Recycle Program allows customers to reuse 97% of the lamp and recycle the rest.  Currently, most of Fiberstars’ customers are commercial entities such as Whole Foods, McDonalds, Trump Tower, Starbucks, Nordstrom’s, Chevron, etc.  Maybe we’re not that far from turn-key consumer applications?

Here are some of the other companies on The Plenty 20: Nanosolar, ECD Ovonics, Greenfuel Technologies, Envirofit International, GE, Organic Valley, Tesla Motors, Southwest Windpower, Domini, Toyota, Whole Foods, Green Mountain Energy, Konarka, Goldman Sachs, Ormat Technologies, Ice Energy, Green Sandwich Technologies, Green Mountain Coffee, and Naturalawn.

I hope so.  When I wrote about Green Sandwich Technologies, true south orientation, and Greenbridge Developments, I was talking about Bill McDonough.  I’ve also mentioned his Cradle to Cradle notion, which is about much more than sustainability, it’s about "waste = food" and what happens to stuff when no one wants to use it anymore (C2C Book).  His ideas are transforming the way companies do business and make money.  And that’s why he’s a big deal.  He’s the "Eco-tect," or the Ecological Architect, but he’s also more than that:  he’s innovating architecture, design, and business all at the same time.  This is the story that Steven Spielberg wants to make a movie about, and I think it will be extremely compelling. 

Right now, McDonough’s company is working with Google on its campus.  He’s also helping to design six cities and one village in China with stringent standards of sustainability.  If you’ve ever been to China, you know how big these cities can get, so we’re talking about sustainability and innovation on a gigantic scale.  The American public could benefit from McDonough’s reservoir of knowledge and experience, so I’m hoping that Spielberg continues with his first impulse and follows through with the film.  Via Business 2.0.   

1. Bold U.S. Energy Goal Put Forward on Capitol Hill: 25% of Energy from Renewable Sources by 2025 – A bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives have re-introduced the 25x’25 House and Senate Concurrent Resolutions calling for a new national renewable energy goal: 25% of the nation’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2025 (see also www.25×25.org).
2. Wal-Mart to Open First High-Efficiency Store; Supercenter Expected to Use 20% Less Energy – Wal-Mart Stores,Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced it will open tomorrow in Kansas City, Mo., the first in a series of high-efficiency stores that will use 20% less energy than a typical Supercenter.  The new high-efficiency stores will integrate industry-leading heating, cooling, and refrigeration systems to conserve energy.
3. Poll Says 77% of American Say U.S. Must Do More to Spur Green Technologies – The Zogby/TechNet nationwide poll of 1,043 Americans found that 77% of U.S. voters believe that our nation must do more to promote green technologies.  75% of the voting population said that their purchasing decisions in the past year have been influenced by a desire to save energy and improve the environment.
4. Unleash Your Inner Al Gore with These 12 Eco-Tips – Being green isn’t just for tree-huggers anymore. In fact, 2007 may be a banner year for going green.  Read on. 

Guest post contributed by Nancy Haecker, Co-Founder of Green Planet Paints, an Arizona-based company innovating natural, zero VOC paints for compelling interior applications. 

Beauty.  Simplicity.  Green Planet Paints (GPP) has developed an interior house paint that sets a new standard for environmentally responsible paint.  Using natural, renewable plant and minerals sources, GPP has created a soy based resin to replace the use of petrochemicals in paint, creating an innovative, zero VOC paint. They have also replaced the harmful dye coloring system with clay color pigments.  The results are a paint built and manufactured by sustainable principles that surpass conventional paints in performance and color.  Green Planet Paints are recommended for interior wall surfaces and come in exotic and earthy colors.  Green Planet Paints can be purchased at select retail stores or on the website.  Nancy Haecker can be reached at nancyhaecker [a] earthlink dot net.

The "illumaWALL," which is a translucent illuminated wall system designed to project a programmable million+ colors, has been singled out by both Architectural Record and Buildings magazines in their 2006 lists of top products.  If I must say so, that’s quite the achievement.  The illumaWALL incorporates translucent polycarbonate glazings with programmable LED lighting for custom design/build applications.  Depending on the type of energy a project is looking for, the illumaWALL could be used both in the interior and exterior, and in commercial, retail, hotel, education, entertainment, industrial, healthcare, or residential uses. 

From what I understand, the wall will also contribute LEED points towards a building owner’s certification.  The translucent polycarbonate glazings minimize heat gain and glare (which leads to lower heating and cooling costs) and the LED lighting incorporates low-voltage, low-heat design.  Not bad.  I could see how the illumaWALL would be good for a restaurant, spa, or retail store, depending on the overall design and brand concept.  Via PRNewswire + Duo-Gard + Info PDF.