In the litany of failed technologies introduced by industry leaders, Sony’s Betamax—a videotape technology superior to its rival, VHS—probably leads the 20th century list.

Topping the 19th century list is Edison’s direct current (DC) electric transmission. At low levels, Westinghouse’s alternating current (AC) seemed a more efficient, safer means of transmitting power locally.

It may be that Edison had it right. DC allows transmission across greater distances with less power loss than AC. That may be crucial in bringing more wind and solar power on line. Suitable sites for wind and solar farms tend to be far away from the cities they’d supply. So says the July 26 Economist.

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Neutral is rarely considered an optimal condition, save for scuba buoyancy and, increasingly, with respect to carbon exposure. An eclectic roster of entities have announced aspirations to achieve carbon neutrality, including HSBC, Google, Super Bowl XLI, Silverjet and the 2008 presidential campaigns of John Edwards and Hilary Clinton.

As these initiatives have attracted positive recognition in the marketplace, more entities have caught on to the reputational benefits accruing from neutrality. This has, in turn, created a virtuous cycle or a “race to the top”. Or has it? A growing chorus of stakeholders has begun to question the net benefit of carbon offsets.

In an attempt to distill truth from fiction, F&C Investments has put out this excellent Guide to Carbon Offsetting. This four-pager is well worth the read for the carbon curious, committed and skeptical.

Traditional financial management curicula establish that a corporation’s primary objective is to maximize the value of the firm and, in turn, maximize shareholders’ return. Advocacy groups and the socially responsible investing (SRI) community have nothing against companies that strive to increase earnings — so long as profits aren’t maximized at the expense of local communities, employees, and the environment.

What’s been difficult, though, is making the link between environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and financial performance. Over the years, dozens of studies have reported on how well corporate citizens perform from a financial standpoint.

My financial textbook, as well as some SRI skeptics, argues that companies that spend resources pursuing “extra-financial” objectives are at an inherent financial disadvantage to their competitors that instead devote those resources to seeking lower cost production, developing new products, and maximizing sales.

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While wind power has become the most economically competitive renewable energy source globally, future US growth faces a hurdle in the form of a supply chain bottleneck for turbines.

Market share for turbines has become increasingly consolidated in the hands of a few producers, putting pressure on domestic wind developers and creating an opportunity for more vertically integrated foreign utilities to acquire US assets. Throw in the fickle production tax credit for wind power with its two-year lifespan, and the US outlook for more wind power does indeed look shaky.

On the positive side, more and more states are increasing their renewable portfolio standards, the price of oil continues to rise, demand for energy is expected to grow and energy independence from foreign producers is still an attractive proposition to law makers.

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Climate Counts is a new nonprofit organization that has developed a rating system for corporate responses to climate change.

Their corporate scorecard evaluates criteria such as a company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and programs, its reporting on GHG emissions, and its public policy positions on climate change issues.

So far, Climate Counts has only rated a few companies and industries, but their rating system (PDF format) is a helpful starting point for:

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I discovered this curve on Xigi.net, a social networking site. It shows where different market sectors or drivers behind sustainable development reside on the continuum of 1) acceptance in the mainstream, 2) visibility to the public eye, and 3) maturity as a social enterprise.

A good friend who used to work in the carbon offsets sector commented to me that this curve should be thought of as a zoomed-in pixel of a larger graph showing major social shifts in the twentieth century (think 1960’s, vietnam, civil rights). The larger wave is building very strongly right now and this wave (from xigi) will break on top of the broader, deeper and stonger wave as we shift toward a more sustainable mode of living.

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If you’re looking for the article to read about the state of affairs in the alternative energy space, covering the present as well as near- and long-term projections, this is it.

The article touches on all the major alternative energy sources- Wind, Geothermal, Biofuels, etc.- and most importantly, it goes into the economics of each source. How cost effective is solar power these days? How many cents per kilowatt hour does it take to produce biomass in a plant? How much does cost matter when it comes to going mainstream? This article is a guide to these kinds of questions.

The New Math of Alternative Energy

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Here is a scary example of an ostensibly green initiative - the growing of palm oil for biofuel in Colombia - having very perverse human rights effects.

Indeed, as one observer quoted in the article says, it is “the dark side of biofuel”.

Massacres and paramilitary land seizures behind the biofuel revolution
· Colombian farmers driven out as armed groups profit
· Lucrative ‘green’ crop less risky to grow than coca

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