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

Green news has been inundated of late with warnings to consumers to be aware of greenwashing. While consumers should read labels and be certain the products they buy are truly green, these warnings seem almost frantic in nature.

Greenwashing is when businesses label their products as green or eco-friendly when the products don’t actually meet these standards. It is about people being fooled into buying products that are not really good for them, or for the environment.

Consumers today should be savvy enough to navigate through advertising hype. How many people really think that sugary cereals are nutritious? Yet TV commercials and cereal box labels still want us to believe that sugary frosted cereals are “part of a nutritious breakfast.”

There are of course many more examples of advertising hype as we all well know, so shouldn’t the same hold true for eco-friendly products? …read more of The Hype About Greenwashing here

Scientists have genetically modified the DNA of major agricultural crops, such as soybeans, corn, and cotton in order to resist a widely used herbicide.

Roundup is the flagship of Monsanto’s agricultural chemicals business and these new genetically modified plant strains are referred to as ”Roundup Ready.”

GMO: This is the acronym for “Genetically Modified Organism” and defines food products altered at the gene level with this technology. …read more of GMO Crops Threaten Biodiversity here

Google has teamed up with GE to bring us up-close and personal to the smart grid. They’re developing a personal energy information application called the Google PowerMeter that will show us our energy consumption in near real-time.

We will know how much energy we’re using, which appliance is using more energy, and find out once-and-for-all just how much energy and money we save by unplugging all of those appliances not in use.

A leader in the Silicon Valley internet technology industry starting from modest beginnings with a well-designed search engine, Google is betting we’ll better understand our energy usage by the information we receive from the PowerMeter than what we currently find on our utility bills. …read more of Google and the Grid here

The Corn Refiners Association (CRA), a trade group representing the corn refining (wet milling) industry, claims that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has the “same natural sweetness as table sugar and honey.”

Many brand name foods and beverages, from soft drinks to tomato soup labeled “all-natural” contain a high level of HFCS.  An interesting take since HFCS is highly processed and refined with enzymatic processes that make use of synthetic fixing agents.

High Fructose Corn Syrup is thought to play a role in the onset of obesity and recent reports indicate that much of it has been tainted with mercury. While HFCS has never enjoyed much popularity among health-conscious consumers, CRA has launched a $30 million ad campaign to counter the current publicity surrounding HFCS.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that the increased use of HFCS in the US mirrors the rapid increase in obesity. Scientists found that the digestion, absorption and metabolism of fructose differ from glucose. …read more of Sweet Deception here