Daily Archives: February 4, 2010
Pandas on a Plane: Super Fuel-Efficient FedEx Plane to Transport Pandas to China in Record Time
Photo: Wikipedia, CC. FedEx.
A Panda Express Ride for Mei Lan (3 years old) and Tai Shan (4.5 years old)
digg_url = ‘http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/02/giant-pandas-fedexed-to-china-boeing-777f-fuel-efficient-plane.php’;Mei Lan and Tai Shan are two US-born giant pandas that are about to leave their homes at the Washington D.C. Smithsonian Na…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Trouble brewing?
Haven’t had much time to go through the various recent cleantech IPO filings, and so haven’t talked about them much. Also just generally hoping they do well, for the sake of the overall industry.
But in a meeting today someone put up some stats that were pretty sobering.
Taking a basket of 4 high profile recent IPOs and filings, the total across the four companies was:
- Trailing twelve month revenues = $319M
- Trailing twelve month EBITDA = -($343M)
- Total venture dollars put into all four companies to date = approximately $1.5B
Like I said, I hope all of these companies do well and grow into great companies. But this type of profile for IPO isn’t the norm. So you have to wonder about it.
Someone today mentioned that they think these companies have to IPO now because they need yet more capital and the private equity world is tapped out. I disagree, I think companies with prospects like these would be able to raise more capital, if not from traditional VCs, then from non-traditional private equity players. Cleantech private equity is down, but far from tapped out.
Instead, I believe these companies are IPOing now because they raised their LAST money under the argument that it would be the “last money before the IPO”, and now that the window for IPOs has opened even just a slight bit, they feel compelled to race out there and make it happen. Come hell or high water, this is the promise they’ve made. And it’s a reasonable guess that there are public equities investors out there who do want to back good stories in cleantech — stories which these companies can indeed tell.
Fingers crossed. But my worry is that, if these IPOs are perceived later on this year as having been unsuccessful, it’ll once again set back the entire cleantech venture industry, because of the example it sets in terms of lack of exits. In reality, these companies really don’t epitomize cleantech venture capital, they’re special cases. But to a journalist, it’s all just one broad category, and to their editors, nuances never make the headline sing…
(PS: I haven’t verified the above stats, so treat accordingly…)
1300 Megawatts Worth of ‘Distributed’ Solar Panels to Rise in California
Photo via All American Patriots
As you’re likely aware, many of the biggest solar farms planned for the US keep hitting snags–many are facing environmental disputes, such as the solar plant planned in the Mojave Desert. So instead of waiting around for the major wattage from such plants to become available, the NY Times reports that utilities are turning to…Read the full story on TreeHugger
French Using Sewage to Heat Their Swimming Pools
When water from the shower, dishwasher, or washing-machine is drained into the sewer-pipes, it’s not just a waste of water, but a waste of the energy used to heat that water. In fact, the water in city pipes averages a temperature of 68°F–energy-produced heat that is simply wasted. This unused energy pestered folks in one French town so much that they decided to put it to good use… and now it heats their swimming pools. …Read the full story on TreeHugger
The Global Climate: Yes, It’s Still Warming
Photo via My Greener Family
Scientists Convene to Explain Case for Climate Change
As many of you know, climate science has gotten something of a bad rap in recent days–the percentage of Americans who even believe that it’s caused by man seems to be in a downward plunge. Perhaps it’s related to the PR crises that have wracked some of the more venerable climate institutions as of late: the hacked emails at the East University of Anglia, the <a href="http://www.treehugg…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Greener Gadgets 2010: What’s the Greenest Gadget of The Year?
Image via Greener Gadgets
The Greener Gadgets competition has begun. Gearing up for the Greener Gadgets conference in New York City on February 25, the Consumer Electronics Association has kicked off a competition to see what is the greenest gadget idea of the year. Will it be the Orange Solar Tent, which charges up your camp site? Or AUG, a barcode system that helps you find locally produced goods? Or will it be Corky, a computer mouse made of cork that is charged by the movement of your hand? You get to decide! Check out the 18 entrants and find out how to vote. …Read the full story on TreeHugger
Spider Webs Offer Biomimetic Inspiration for Dew Catchers in Developing Countries
Photo via Niffty..
With the help of a scanning electron microscope, Chinese scientists have figured out the secret architecture to spiders’ webs that make them incredibly effective at catching dew. Cracking into the mystery could mean that the same structures can be duplicated in fog catchers for developing nations, creating effective yet inexpensive methods for helping communities with scarce or polluted water sources. …Read the full story on TreeHugger
Amazon Rainforest Near Tipping Point – IPCC Projections of Decline Validated
photo: Alexander Torrenegra via flickr.
Amazongate was a non-story from the outset, a question of sloppy citations rather than sloppy science. In fact a new piece in Tierraamérica which Mongabay is highlighting validates the original IPCC projection about how much of the Amazon rainforest could …Read the full story on TreeHugger
Green Jeans: Forget Washing. Just Freeze Them.
The world’s most popular clothing item could also be the most eco-friendly. That’s right, blue-jeans are going green–or at least that the hope of one Brazilian manufacturer. The Rio based company, Tristar, recently revealed their new line of environmentally conscious jeans. Not only are the jeans made entirely of organic cotton, the way they’re cleaned is also a friendly nod to nature. Instead of using a wasteful washing-machine to clean these jeans, all you have to do is toss them in the freezer….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Free For Free. Yoink Costs Next To Nothing to Find Free Stuff
Photo: Bonobo
Yoink is new software that gives a triple scoop of that tasty treat: Free. It is a free iPhone application, which provides a free service geographically linking people who want to give away free stuff with those who want it.
Think of it as Freecycle in your pocket. As the media release explains,“The Yoink iPhone application uses the inbuilt camera to photograph the item and the GPS to determine the location so people only have to write a short text description to list an item.”
Although a new service, to be officially launched next week, early members in Australia, USA, Canada, Italy and Macedoni…Read the full story on TreeHugger
