eBay, the world’s leading online marketplace with 88 Million users, has launched a social media initiative campaign designed to inspire eBay buyers and sellers to create positive social change through a variety of eBay activities.

The innovative campaign links all five of the company’s pro-social initiatives: eBay Foundation, eBay Giving Works, MicroPlace, WorldofGood.com by eBay and the eBay Green Team to create collective, lasting and scalable social good.

What makes this campaign different? …read more of eBay Launches Social Media Campaign: Give. Good. Green. here

Our editor sent me a link to a Time Magazine article titled “Asia Challenges the U.S. for Green Tech Supremacy”
I was enraged at the shallowness of this thought process. Having worked within global manufacturing for over fifteen years. I have seen the “new pink,” the buzz words that become the focus of corporations.

Spoken by the CEO’s to boards, stockholders and management; like “outsource,” ‘DIVERSITY,” “Supply Chain,” all of which have been great ideas that turned scapegoats; used for the purpose of getting a tax advantage, saving money, all about the stock price today. Nothing considered as to the long term ramifications. And this article is that one-dimensional.

With this knowledge, knowing others have similar insights I am throwing this out there to start a discussion. …read more of “Does Asia really challenge the U.S. for Green Tech Supremacy?!” here

Pursuing a new career after being laid off is challenging and scary. Now, with an uncertain future and plenty of time on their hands, laid off workers are faced with no other option than to explore new avenues.

Many laid off workers finding themselves in this predicament are faced with making serious changes to their professional portfolio, which oftentimes require retraining or updating existing skill sets.

In today’s current tide of social and lifestyle changes, a lot of these workers are choosing the green route and are going back to school for green certification and training. …read more of Green (Re)education here

It was earnings season last week, and a look at some of the results posted by some of the leading clean energy companies provides a fairly accurate picture of how this crucial industry is fairing in the midst of this punishing recession.

Take First Solar, the Tempe Ariz.,-based maker of solar panels, which tripled revenues during the first quarter 2009, announcing net income last week of $164.6 million on revenues of $418.2 million. The company brought in $46.6 million in net income last year on revenues of $196.9 million.

First Solar clearly did well but was quick to warn that despite its stellar numbers, it expected the market to stagnate, at least over the coming year, pummeled by the economic crisis. But on the upside, the company added that the Obama stimulus and the $100 billion allocated for clean energy would, in the long-term, help make the U.S. an attractive and growing market. …read more of Clean Energy Can Bring Profits here

During last year’s Earth Day the business community was just coming to grasp with the economic slowdown; there was a growing understanding of climate change issues and the need for clean energy solutions and responding to that growing interest, investors over the past year had opened the money valves to record levels. Global investments in clean energy reached $155 billion for the whole of 2008.

How things have changed. Months into a deep, global economic crisis, this year’s Earth Day is being celebrated amidst an investment drought — venture capital funds, which were early supporters of the clean energy sector — have all but pulled out of the sector. Banks are also not lending, despite unprecedented government support.

One report, released earlier this month, compiled by research firm New Energy Finance, showed that global investments in the clean energy sector plummeted to $13.3 billion in the first quarter of 2009, a 44% drop from the fourth quarter of 2008 and a 53% drop from the same time last year. …read more of Clean Energy Investments Key to Economic Recovery here