Category: News

Jeff Siegel, Managing Editor, Green Chip Stocks

Investing In Green (8 min)

• 2009’s best performing sectors in green stocks
• Green tech spaces to be bullish on in 2010
• The best way for investors to take advantage of green innovations
• The reasoning behind Buffett’s investment in BYD

Produced By: Kamelia Angelova & William Wei

More Video: TBI Calendar Click HERE >

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• Warren Buffett’s Electric Car Gamble Is No Sure Thing
• China: A Threat Or Opportunity For A Greener Future?
• Green Tech VC Activity Down Big In 2009

Anything packaged in a new and better way, sounds new and better. Similarly the concept of solar updraft technology has been reintroduced, this time by Australia-based EnviroMission Ltd. They have announced plans to build two solar updrafts spanning hundreds of acres in La Paz County. The solar updrafts technology is a tall solar tower generating energy by forcing heated air through a shaft lined with wind turbines. By turning the wind turbine, energy is produced. The towers will each have 2,400 foot chimneys over a greenhouse measuring four square miles.
[Inhabitat]

Even if these weapons remain controversial abroad, we believe support within the U.S. is accelerating due to their cost-effectiveness and the obviously lower risk soldiers need to take.

In case you missed it, the U.S. just allegedly had five successful drone strikes in a week:

CNN: "The drone strikes are part of an overall set of tactics which make up the strategy for victory," said Arizona Republican John McCain. "They have been very effective, and they have knocked al Qaeda and other Islamic extremist organizations off balance."

Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said the drones were "a critical element of our effort, our campaign, our strategy to deny the terrorists who are terrorizing the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan a safe haven from which to strike them and us in the United States."

The senators made their comments during a congressional visit that took them to Iraq and Afghanistan. Next on their itinerary is Pakistan.

Read more here >

Thing is, from an investor perspective, we don't know of any decent listed drone-related plays. Feel free to suggest ideas.

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See Also:

• Shiite Militants Hack U.S. Drones With $25 Software
• Predator Drones Now Defend Commercial Shipping
• Why Super Advanced Drone Fighters Might Make War Less Common

Many people are now feeling that bloated, regretful feeling that comes with overindulging over the holidays. Rachael Ray wants to help, along with Liz Vacariello, author of the new diet book 400 Calorie Fix.

About the diet

The diet plan is based on eating four, 400-calorie meals every day. There are no off-limit foods as long as you don’t eat more than 400 calories at a time, or make up for excesses by eating less later in the day. The book aims to help retrain readers’ eyes to understand what 400 calories of 400 different foods looks like.

To lose more weight more quickly, Vacariello says people can have three 400-calorie meals instead, and men and those with active lifestyles can have five meals a day. Dropping down to three meals a day can help a person lose about 11 pounds in two weeks, she said.

Little changes for big results

On this visit to the show, Vacariello dropped in on a viewer who was struggling with weight loss and revealed problem areas and items in the kitchen that can keep people from losing weight.

First, she suggested taking the computer out of the kitchen, because people who eat when engaged with electronics consume the equivalent of an extra meal a day in calories.

“You’re signaling to yourself and your family that this is an activity that doesn’t involve food,” Vacariello said of moving the computer.

Second, put junk food, if you have to have it in your house, on the kids’ eye level and healthier choices on the eye level of parents so you’ll be reminded the healthier food is there.

Using smaller plates is another good tip, she says, noting that using a two-inch smaller plate yields a 22 percent reduction in calorie consumption, providing a two-pound-a-month weight loss.

Bright lights stimulate appetites and make us eat more quickly, so eat by lamp light or a dimmed overhead light instead of under full illumination. And when the meal is done, turn off the lights in the kitchen to indicate that food time is over and the kitchen is closed.

Vacariello says when the kitchen is home base and people spend most of their time there, they end of snacking throughout the day. So rediscover the rest of your house and you’ll automatically eat less, she says.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

From the RSS feed of CalorieLab News (REF3076322B7)

Change your kitchen, lose the weight

If there’s one company that is the bane of advertisers, TiVo would be it. Their “timeshifting” devices (i.e. DVRs) have enabled consumers not only to watch TV later, but to skip commercials and get to what they really want to watch. And while most consumers may not own a TiVo, they can get a similar DVR through their cable/satellite provider. As it would turn out, TiVo is also interested in how people skip commercials and keeps track of stuff like that. They decided to compare last years smartphone companies ads, pitting Research in Motions’s BlackBerry line against Palm (Apple’s not just a smartphone company, so despite their excellent commercials they don’t count here).

What’s interesting is that despite the fact that BlackBerry ads were both more plentiful and better positioned in a block of ads (first being better), Palm’s ads were skipped over less often. Palm’s ads that were in the “first pod position” were actually skipped 20% less than similarly-placed BlackBerry ads. Palm’s ads also were skipped less overall in households with incomes over $150,000.

The ads that Palm ran were also notably shorter than RIM’s, with 97% of the Palm ads running for just 15 seconds. The shorter ads logged 30% less fast-forwarding than 30-second ads. On the flipside, 26% of BlackBerry ads ran for a full minute, and those only suffered 4% more skipping than the 30-second versions.

Most of those Palm ads were creepy lady commercials, so it’s hard to say whether people were fascinated by the product or by the commercials themselves. Either way, it has a tiny part of us wondering if maybe we burned the witch too soon, so to speak.

With Palm’s new ad campaign under way and the devices soon to spread to other US networks, it should be interesting to see this comparison again next year.

Africa, as we all know is a very under-developed region. Thousands of children are undernourished whereas the employment opportunities are also very meager. With the new concept of solar powered irrigation, the conditions there have become better there. Not only is there more employment opportunity because of the installation of the solar panels, but the irrigation allows for more and better quality of food to be produced within the country. This improvement has been seen in the sub-Saharan Africa. Interestingly, only 4-percent of the cropland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated, most communities rely on rain-fed agriculture.
[ecofriendlymag]

Acai Berry Actives is a diet pill that claims it will help you lose weight, increase metabolism, fight fatigue, and increase energy. This Acai Berry Actives review will show that Acai Berry Actives will not cause weight loss. It is not the answer to your diet pill needs.

Acai Berry Actives Ingredients

The Acai Berry Actives website lists only two ingredients: acai berry and green tea. Acai berry is all the rage right now. Don’t be fooled by all the hype; although acai berry does contain antioxidants, it does NOT cause weight loss. It is just like the hoodia craze. It is touted by celebrities but has no scientific research to back it up.

Green tea has been proven to contribute to weight loss. In order for green tea to be effective, it has to be taken in doses of 300 mg or more per day. Acai Berry Actives does not state how much green tea it contains, therefore there is no way for this Acai Berry Actives review to determine if there is enough green tea in Acai Berry Actives diet pills to contribute to weight loss.

Acai Berry Actives Cost

Acai Berry Actives diet pills cost $49.95 for a one month supply. Although this is not especially expensive for a diet pill, considering there is no evidence that Acai Berry Actives will actually cause weight loss, $49.95 is too much to pay for it. If you really want to lose weight, use a diet pill that includes clinically proven ingredients in the necessary amounts.

Acai Berry Actives Guarantee

Acai Berry Actives offers a 90 day return policy. While I like the length of the return policy, I’m less a fan of the terms. You can return unopened packages only.

Therefore, if you try Acai Berry Actives and it doesn’t work (which it won’t), you can’t get a refund on the packages you have started using. In addition, you will be charged a $10 restocking fee for any returned product.

Acai Berry Actives Weight Management Club

The Acai Berry Actives website explains that by purchasing Acai Berry Actives, you will be enrolled in a weight management club, a free online fitness program for Acai Berry Actives customers. The management club supposedly offers diet plans, exercise programs, and fitness tracking systems that are available only to Acai Berry Actives customers, not to the general public.

Acai Berry Actives Affiliate Program

Acai Berry Actives offers an Affiliate Program. Basically, you get other people to sign up to buy Acai Berry Actives and you get commission on everything they buy. The website states that affiliates make 50% commission. Its interesting, considering other companies who offer similar programs don’t offer nearly that percentage in commission.

Acai Berry Actives Conclusion

This Acai Berry Actives review finds Acai Berry Actives is overpriced. In addition, there is no reason to believe Acai Berry Actives will actually cause weight loss. Save yourself some money, time, and headache by using a diet pill with proven ingredients in proven amounts.

Boston.com: Some analysts said yesterday that it now seems inevitable that the consumer agency will not survive the Senate negotiations. “I think that is the price of compromise,’’ said James Hamilton, principal analyst at CCH Inc., a large financial information company.

Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican who sits on the committee and is playing a key role in the negotiations, said in an interview yesterday that it would be a mistake to create a stand-alone agency. In a sign of the type of compromise that Republicans might accept, Gregg suggested consumer protection could be given a priority at existing agencies instead of creating a separate, new government entity.

“A much better approach is to raise the level of responsibility within the regulatory agencies so that they understand [consumer protection] is a coequal requirement with safety and soundness’’ of banks, Gregg said.

Dodd said in a recent interview with the Globe that he “absolutely’’ supports the agency. To find a middle ground, Dodd said, he is seeking a “construct’’ of the agency that will satisfy all sides.

Read more here >

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• Peter Schiff: Chris Dodd's Retirement Won't Fix Our Broken System
• Surprise! Dodd's Replacement On The Banking Committee Is Another Big Friend To Big Finance
• Democrats Are Actually Really, Really Glad Chris Dodd Has Dropped Out Of The Race

Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt doesn’t know why docs haven’t embraced databases to help them sort through medical information. Atul Gawande, the Harvard surgeon and New Yorker writer, suggested an explanation.

Gawande, who has a new book on the benefits of checklists, spoke yesterday to a meeting of a group that advises President Obama on science and technology. Schmidt is part of that group.

According to a blog post from the journal Science, Schmidt said:

So when you show up at the doctor with some set of symptoms, in my ideal world what would happen is that the doctor would type in the symptoms he or she also observes, and it would be matched against the data in this repository. Then this knowledge engine would use best practices, and all the knowledge in the world to give physicians some sort of standardized guidance. This is a generalized form of the checklists that you’re talking about …

As computer scientists, this is a platform database problem, and we do these very, very well, as a general rule. And it befuddles me why medicine hasn’t organized itself around these platform opportunities.

Gawande’s explanation, as quoted in the Science blog:

I think part of the bafflement occurs because the folks who know how to make such systems don’t understand how the clinical encounter actually operates.

In particular, Gawande said, a database is likely to return more information than a clinician could make sense of during a patient visit when there are “15 minutes to manage six problems.” Still, he added, the right kind of apps for “for your iPhone or whatever the new Google one is” (ouch!) could be useful for doctors.

This sort of discussion has been going on for years, but it has added urgency these days because over the next few years the federal government will pay doctors and hospitals tens of billions of dollars to start using electronic medical records.

At some point, an archived Webcast of yesterday’s panel meeting will be available here.

Image: iStockphoto

The U.S. jobless rate was unchanged at 10% in December, following a decline the previous month, but the government’s broader measure of unemployment ticked up 0.1 percentage point to 17.3%.

The comprehensive gauge of labor underutilization, known as the “U-6″ for its data classification by the Labor Department, accounts for people who have stopped looking for work or who can’t find full-time jobs. Though the rate is still 0.1 percentage point below its high of 17.4% in October, its continuing divergence from the official number (the “U-3″ unemployment measure) indicates the job market has a long way to go before growth in the economy translates into relief for workers.

The 10% unemployment rate is calculated based on people who are without jobs, who are available to work and who have actively sought work in the prior four weeks. The “actively looking for work” definition is fairly broad, including people who contacted an employer, employment agency, job center or friends; sent out resumes or filled out applications; or answered or placed ads, among other things.

The U-6 figure includes everyone in the official rate plus “marginally attached workers” — those who are neither working nor looking for work, but say they want a job and have looked for work recently; and people who are employed part-time for economic reasons, meaning they want full-time work but took a part-time schedule instead because that’s all they could find.

In the coming months, the U-6 measure may be an important signal for the labor market. The official jobless rate is likely to hold steady or rise through the first half of the year as more people return to the job market. That means Americans who now fall into the U-6 category, for stopping their job searches due to discouragement, will eventually fall into the U-3 category as they restart their job hunt.

A U-6 figure that converges toward the official rate (even an official rate that’s above 10%) could indicate improving confidence in the labor market and the overall economy. This month pushes convergence even further away.

The EHA and the European Industrial Gases Association, EIGA,  have prepared a joint position paper to ask the EU Commission for its consideration of the impacts of the current Seveso II Directive that dates from 1996 on to he commercial use of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier.   The  EHa and EIGA more specifically suggest that hydrogen be deleted from the list of specifically named substances in Annex 1 of the Direci, so that it is exclusively covered by the “extremely flammable” category.  Thresholds for hydrogen are currently 5 and 50 tons in the Seveso II Directive ; comparable to those of “Very Toxic” substances (5 and 20 tons). Even Chlorine has a  higher threshold of 10 tons, and those for “Liquefied extremely flammable gases (including LPG) and natural gas” are 50 and 200 tons.  At the current lower limit of 5 tons, road vehicle fuelling stations could fall under the scope of the Seveso directive, severely and unjustifiably compromising the development of the hydrogen refuelling infrastructure necessary to support the commercialisation of hydrogen vehicles projected from 2015 onwards, as indicated above.
With the change proposed the lower limit for hydrogen would be raised to 10 tons in  the new Directive. This remains quite conservative, as the consequences of an  accidental release of hydrogen are not worse overall than for other flammable gases.

Chrysler Group LLC announced yesterday that it is revamping its powertrain lineup with some technology assistance from Fiat that will increase the overall fuel-efficiency of its lineup by 25 percent during the 2010-2014 period.

Chrysler will expand its 4-cylinder engine choices with the introduction of Fiat Powertrain’s 1.4L, in-line 4-cylinder Fully Integrated Robotized Engine (FIRE) featuring Multiair. 4-Cylinder options will include a 100-hp 1.4L I-4 FIRE with Multiair, a 170-hp 1.4L I-4 FIRE Turbo with Multiair and a 190-hp 2.4L I-4 World Gas Engine with Multiair.

The Auburn Hills automaker will also upgrade its V6 engine offering with the new fuel-efficient, 3.6L V6 Pentastar engine. Producing 280-hp and a peak torque of 260 lb-ft, the first application of the V6 Pentastar will debut in the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, due out in the second-quarter of 2010.

Further making improvements to fuel-efficiency, Chrysler said that it will introduce Fiat’s six-speed Dual Dry Clutch Transmission (DDCT) to mid-size D-segment cars later this year. The application will provide a 10 percent increase in fuel-economy.

Click through for the press release for more details.

Press Release:

Chrysler Group LLC Transforms Powertrain Strategy

Auburn Hills, Mich., Jan 7, 2010 – Chrysler Group LLC is revamping its powertrain lineup with technology that will contribute to an overall fuel-efficiency improvement of more than 25 percent during the 2010-2014 period.

As a result of the new alliance with Fiat, the company’s five-year business plan has an uncompromising powertrain offensive, including a progressive vehicle electrification strategy.

“Chrysler Group will attain leadership by rapidly applying Fiat Powertrain technologies, such as Multiair, direct injection, turbocharging and transmission systems to its powertrain portfolio,” said Paolo Ferrero, Senior Vice President, Chrysler Powertrain. “By 2014 calendar year, more than 80 percent of Chrysler Group’s current powertrain lineup will undergo a complete makeover.”

In order to combine complementary strengths, Fiat Powertrain is the global center of expertise for diesel technology and small displacement gas engines (less than or equal to 1.8 liters). Chrysler Powertrain is the global center of expertise for large displacement gasoline engines and vehicle electrification technology. The primary goal is leveraging combined powertrain and vehicle knowledge to achieve best-in-class fuel economy for both companies.

New Four-cylinder Engines
Four-cylinder engine options are being expanded at Chrysler Group with the introduction of Fiat Powertrain’s 1.4-liter, in-line four-cylinder Fully Integrated Robotized Engine (FIRE) featuring Multiair. In the early 1970s, the use of robotics in assembly plants was not common. The term “FIRE” came into existence when Fiat integrated the use of robotics in the production process of manufacturing plants. Although mechanized assembly is common today, the brand name FIRE has remained with Fiat’s powertrain lineup.

Two variations of the engine will be available, naturally aspirated and turbo. Both versions of the 1.4-liter FIRE feature four valves per cylinder and incorporate state-of-the-art technology for Fully Variable-valve Actuation (FVVA), also known as Multiair. Fiat’s Multiair technology significantly reduces emissions, while improving fuel economy and power. This sophisticated electro-hydraulic variable-valve actuation technology delivers an increase in power up to 10 percent, an improvement in low rpm torque up to 15 percent and a reduction in fuel consumption and emissions up to 10 percent when compared with similar engines without the technology. The Multiair system is based on a series of Fiat Powertrain patents related to hardware, combustion strategies and controls that allow for full control of the lift and timing of engine valves, independently on each cylinder and during each single engine stroke. Well suited for a small car application, the first North American vehicle to feature the 1.4-liter FIRE with Multiair is the Fiat 500.

Specifications
1.4-liter I-4 FIRE with Multiair
100 horsepower (75 kW) at 6,750 rpm
95 lb.-ft. (129 N•m) of torque at 4,250 rpm

1.4-liter I-4 FIRE Turbo with Multiair
170 horsepower (128 kW) at 6,750 rpm
170 lb.-ft. (231 N•m) of torque at 3,000 rpm

Another addition to the Chrysler Powertrain lineup is the new 2.4-liter, in-line four-cylinder World Gas Engine (WGE) with Multiair. This new engine stands as an example of Chrysler Powertrain’s rapid integration of Fiat technology. Chrysler Powertrain’s 2.4-liter WGE features Fiat’s Multiair technology that will improve fuel economy and specific-power output. In comparison with its predecessor, the 2.4-liter with Multiair delivers an increase in power, an improvement in low rpm torque and a reduction in fuel consumption and emissions output. A turbo version of the 2.4-liter WGE also is under development for future applications.

Specifications
2.4-liter I-4 World Gas Engine with Multiair
190 horsepower (142 kW) at 6,000 rpm (estimated)
175 lb.-ft. (237 N•m) of torque at 4,200 rpm (estimated)

All-new V-6 Pentastar Engine
Chrysler Powertrain will streamline its V-6 gas engine offerings from six options to the new fuel-efficient, state-of-the-art 3.6-liter V-6 Pentastar engine. The first application of this engine will be in the all-new 2011 Jeep® Grand Cherokee, due out in the second quarter this year. Chrysler Group’s all-new Pentastar V-6 is the most advanced six-cylinder engine in the history of Chrysler, with an optimized integration of select technologies that deliver refinement, fuel efficiency and performance. The Pentastar delivers a fuel efficiency improvement of up to 8 percent on average when compared with previous Chrysler Group V-6 engines and delivers 90 percent of its available torque from 1800-6400 rpm. In the all-new 2011 Jeep® Grand Cherokee, the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine offers an increase of 33 percent in horsepower and an 11 percent improvement in torque over its predecessor. The Pentastar V-6 is designed to use technologies such as Multiair, direct-injection and turbocharging for future applications.

Specifications
3.6-liter V-6 Pentastar
280 horsepower (209 kW) at 6,400 rpm
260 lb.-ft. (353 N•m) of torque at 4,400 rpm

New Transmission Technology
Beginning with mid-size D-segment cars in 2010, Chrysler Powertrain will migrate Fiat’s six-speed Dual Dry Clutch Transmission (DDCT) to Chrysler Group vehicles. The DDCT delivers a 10 percent improvement in fuel efficiency while enhancing performance. It transitions seamlessly from economy to sport mode when desired and can handle up to 260 lb.-ft of torque (350 N•m). The DDCT uses the best characteristics from both a manual transmission and an automatic transmission. This combination delivers the efficient performance of a locked gear mechanical path, but maintains the drivability and comfort of an automatic transmission.

Vehicle Electrification
In November 2009, Chrysler Group revealed a new engineering organization model showing the company as the center of competence for vehicle electrification efforts for Chrysler Group and Fiat Group. The resources previously spread in different electrification development groups have been assigned to the powertrain and vehicle engineering mainstream—a clear sign of how the Chrysler Group intends to move from research and development to vehicle production.

As part of its five-year plan, Chrysler Group currently is developing a Ram 1500 with traditional hybrid capability for 2010. The company also continues its plan with the Department of Energy to build a small test fleet of plug-in hybrid Ram 1500 pickup trucks and minivans. Because pure electric vehicles lend themselves to commercial applications, Chrysler Group is considering a small electric delivery van application for 2011-2012 with an appropriate business case.

The company has a significant amount of resources allocated toward vehicle electrification and affirms a commitment by continuing to add talent in this leading-edge technology arena.

– By: Omar Rana