Posted on 01 December 2011 by Sustainability Digest
It’s December again (how did that happen!?) and our annual time for reflection here at Kachan & Co. So as we close out 2011, let’s look towards what the new year may have in store for cleantech. There are eggshells across the sector for 2012. Global economic uncertainty in particular is leaving some skeptical about [...]
Posted on 30 September 2011 by Sustainability Digest
With the emergence of China as the globe’s cleantech powerhouse (see Why China has already overtaken the U.S. in cleantech), it’s become fashionable for cleantech companies with products to sell to target China seeking large purchase orders. What’s not been so popular is to go to China seeking investment capital. We and a handful of [...]
Posted on 13 September 2011 by Sustainability Digest
One of my friends, John Moore. the CEO of Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN), recently sold off their rapidly growing CoaLogix investment for a quick return. I caught up with John to get the story. So John, who the hell is Acorn Energy anyways? Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) is the Sun Studios of the energy sector. We have [...]
Posted on 28 August 2011 by Sustainability Digest
Photo: Soggydan / cc
In pursuit of convenient animal-based products, like meat and leather, profiteers and consumers have turned a blind eye to some incredibly inhumane treatment of countless other species — but too often, unimaginable cruelty is inflicted for no real gain at all. Throughout parts of China, some 10,000 endangered Asiatic black bears are currently housed in tiny, restrictive metal cages where they are systematically ‘milked’ of bile, a digestive fluid produced in the gallbladder which is believed to have medicinal qualities…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Posted on 13 August 2011 by Sustainability Digest
The Guardian reports on a new study which has found that “the number of ivory items on sale in key centres in southern China has more than doubled since 2004, with most traded illegally.” Fears about the future of elephants and rhinos of Africa has the researchers calling for China to tighten the enforcement of ivory trading regulations. Read the full story on The Guardian. …Read the full story on TreeHugger
Posted on 14 July 2011 by Sustainability Digest
Image: Kick Photo via flickr
After a year-long investigation of China’s giant textile industry, Greenpeace has found that hormone-disrupting chemicals and other toxins are being discharged into the country’s major water systems from major plants that supply big sports brands like Nike, Adidas and Puma, as well as international fashion brands like Lacoste, H&M, Calvin Klein and Converse.
Despite claims of efforts to improve enviro…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Posted on 02 July 2011 by Sustainability Digest
Photo: The Home Expedition / Running The Silk Road.
Seventy-two days after setting out from Istanbul, champion distance runner Kevin Lin Yi Jie and a small team of other athletes have covered 4,434 kilometers of their 10,00-kilometer goal: Running the full length of the ancient Silk Road trading route to raise money for and awareness about water shortages in the arid Central…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Posted on 18 May 2011 by Sustainability Digest
Watermelons for sale in Shanghai. Photo: John Solomon / Creative Commons.
Farmers in China’s eastern Jiangsu province awoke one morning earlier this month to a scene of agricultural carnage — hundreds of exploded watermelons. More continued to burst throughout the next couple of days, ruining more than 100 acres of the crop. In the search for a culprit, many are placing the blame on the misuse of growth chemicals in a country already deeply troubled by <a href="http://foru…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Posted on 30 March 2011 by Sustainability Digest
Photo: Li Bo
Keyring ornaments are perhaps the most useless item you’ll ever carry in your pocket or stuff in your purse — but now, thanks to an increasingly popular item being sold in China, it can easily be the cruelest, too. For the price you might expect to pay for some kitschy trinket, Chinese street vendors are selling live animals, permanently sealed in a small plastic pouch where they can survive for a short while as someone’s conversation piece. Apparently, these unimaginably inhumane keyrings are actually quite popular — and worst of all, it’s totally legal….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Posted on 25 January 2011 by Sustainability Digest
The problem with REMs and why they are so “rare” is that mining and refining for them is incredibly damaging to the environment. Extraction requires a huge amount of ore (making it highly energy-consuming) and toxic acids that eat into the soil and persist for decades. To make matters worse, REMs are often found with even heavier elements, such as uranium, making the mine tailings radioactive.
