Top 10 Green Business Stories for 2010...Outlook for 2011

A great blog post by the co-author of the best-seller Green to Gold, Andrew Winston.  Offer 5 macro-level and 5 company specific looks at the top Green stories from 2010.  Concludes with a summary outlook for 2011,

http://blogs.hbr.org/winston/2010/12/the-top-10-green-business-stor.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29

No where to go but up for manufacturing in 2011

Posted on:
Manufacturing Growth Forecasted for 2011
The U.S. manufacturing sector will grow in 2011, with manufacturing revenue increasing by 5.6%
12/9/2010 7:50:00 AM - Article #8085

The U.S. manufacturing sector will grow in 2011, with manufacturing revenue increasing by 5.6% according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) semi-annual forecast released.

The overall forecast projects optimism about the U.S. economy for 2011. The manufacturing sector, overall, is positive about prospects in 2011 with revenues expected to increase in 16 of 18 industries. ISM also predicts that business investment, a major driver in the U.S. economy, will increase substantially in the manufacturing sector.

The 16 manufacturing industries expecting improvement over 2010 — listed in order — are: Primary Metals; Fabricated Metal Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Transportation Equipment; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Furniture & Related Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Machinery; Textile Mills; Wood Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Chemical Products; and Paper Products.

read the full article:

http://www.mfrtech.com/articles/8085.html

It it really a "low fixed rate" for natural gas supply?

I recently received an offer from IGSEnergy for a low fixed rate of 66.8 cents per CCF -- or 100 cubic feet of natural gas.  This is the same as $6.68 per MCF, by the way.   So I decide to see what was going on in the market for natural gas rates and what the buzz is about inflation for 2011.

As you can read below...let the buyer beware.  Do your homework whenever the energy suppliers are offering a "deal"...they rarely, if ever, lose.  As you will see, the 66.8 cent deal is no deal after all...

Natural gas price war breaking out in Ohio

Published by Cleveland.com: Friday, September 03, 2010, 6:14 PM     Updated: Saturday, September 04, 2010, 2:51 AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Even before the blast furnace called summer 2010 throttled back, independent gas suppliers were peddling their usual tales of Arctic woe.

Many offered pricey long-term fixed-price contracts as a way to get through another budget-bruising winter.

A few weeks ago, IGS Energy, the state's largest independent gas company, warned that "high heating bills are just around the corner." IGS, based in Dublin, advertised a "low fixed rate" of $7.29 per 1,000 cubic feet to consumers in Dominion East Ohio territory.

To read all of this article:
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/09/natural_gas_price_war_breaking.html

GreenGov...Now That's on Oxymoron!

Article posted on MfrTech.com   December 7, 2010

Obama Administration Officials Unveil GreenGov Supply Chain Partnership with Industry
A voluntary collaboration between the federal government and its suppliers to create a greener, more efficient supply chain12/2/2010 12:29:00 PM - Article #7852

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the GreenGov Supply Chain Partnership and Small Business Pilot, a voluntary collaboration between the federal government and its suppliers to create a greener, more efficient supply chain. The program was announced at a supply chain summit in Chicago hosted by White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and GSA Administrator Martha Johnson.

The GreenGov Supply Chain Partnership is a voluntary, GSA pilot program to promote clean energy and cut waste and pollution in the federal supply chain using greenhouse gas emissions as a measurement. Federal suppliers that join the GreenGov Supply Chain Partnership agree to voluntarily measure and report their organization’s greenhouse gas emissions. Participating companies will share their experiences to help GSA develop a phased, incentive-based approach to developing contracting advantages to companies that track and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.

To read tge full article: http://www.mhia.org/news/industry/10198/obama-administration-officials-unveil-greengov-supply-chain-partnership-with-industry

First Post - Weigh In

Working to get the new blog up and running.  Please join in, there will be regular discussion and information about energy conservation, environmental sustainability, alternative energy, energy savings, green energy, energy efficiency, being more energy efficient, Energy Star, power factor and powerfactor energy savings, and much, much more about reducing energy costs to boost profits and reduce your carbon footprint.

What are you interested in discussing?  What energy saving topics are of interest?  Weigh in!