http://www.greenmomentum.com GreenMomentum, cleantech for Latin America http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=6140 My name is Luis Aguirre-Torres, and I approve this blog. The former eBay CEO continues her relentless bid to govern the seventh largest economy in the world. She is using whatever comes to mind as long as it scores her points, including anti-environment propaganda and anti-immigration catchphrases. Should half of it become a reality, then we are in trouble... and on our way to Canada. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=6140 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5991 Tesla Motors IPO was perhaps the most over-hyped public offering of recent years. Still, the real effect will not be clear for some months (not years), and I am sure it's not good news for Tesla or any other company trying to follow on the electric vehicle maker's troubled steps. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5991 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5930 The driving force behind the UN efforts to promote a binding agreement on climate change will soon leave his post as Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC. He will be replaced by Christiana Figueres who apparently willingly accepted the challenge to take over for De Boer. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5930 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5892 The FIFA World Cup got underway last Friday with the hosts South Africa playing Mexico. This time, the stadiums were built with a "green building" strategy in mind. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5892 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5848 COP16 is around the corner. With just six months to go, it is hard to believe that we will be able to finish what we couldn't at last year's summit: come up with a viable agreement in terms of emissions reductions and climate financing. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5848 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5815 I am talking about the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico and the more than 9,000 million liters of oil spilled since day one, irreversibly affecting the environment and the economy of several states in the US and Mexico. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5815 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5716 The future of cleantech as an industry is in the hands of the government (the US and China, not the Greek government, thank God). However, the current US Senate climate bill and the way the elections in California are going, I am not very confident things are going to be easy, not at all this time. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5716 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5632 California's AB32 set the pace for climate change policy making in the US and the rest of the world. Among other things, AB32 has helped California and the US to withstand (to some extent) the financial and oil crisis of the last 18 months. Now, some narrow-minded people, including Meg Whitman, are hoping to eliminate the measure... mostly because it serves their short-term objectives, without realizing what it really means to Californians and the rest of the US. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5632 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5547 Dear Mother Earth: Please save us from evil and stupid socialist leaders that believe that because they have suffered they are the only ones who can come up with a solution that works. Especially those that believe that those who are not like them are, well, stupid. Yes, please save us from Evo. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5547 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5519 The state of the cleantech industry is not even close to what it should be according to everybody's expectations. But why? My take is that political will, foreign investment and bureaucracy are three of the main issues; however I believe the problem remains the people and their lack of education regarding the subject. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5519 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5470 The iPad is out. Some went crazy and stayed in line for hours in order to be one of the few 300,000 that got one on the first weekend. Much has been written about the new little toy and whether it's green or not. We are joining the club and will write about it (so we don't feel left out). http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5470 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5381 Last week, Mexico celebrated 72 years since the birth of the state-controlled oil company Pemex. As always, Mexico lives in the past and continues to think that the 1938 expropriation of the oil industry was a good idea. Maybe at the time, today, it needs to let go, really. "Pemex belongs to Mexico and the Mexican people..." Good luck with that. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5381 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5241 California is widely considered as the trendsetter, worldwide, in terms of renewable energy policy. AB32 is still considered key in the development of the green industry in the state. However, in terms of net metering, California is far from a trendsetter, even after the most recent increase from 2.5% to 5%. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5241 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5222 Yvo de Boer resigned as UN climate chief last week. Yesterday we learned that Germany may be the last stop before Cancun. Well, let's not wait until Germany or Mexico. Let's start acting and become an active part of the solution. Good intentions and tales from the Danish fiasco will only waste time, and my time is very valuable. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5222 http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5140 The Mayans predicted the world would end in 2012, and most of us assumed they meant climate change or that some sort of cataclysmic event would take place. However, I believe now they really meant the potential of having Sarah Palin and Meg Whitman running two of the top ten economies in the world. http://www.greenmomentum.com/wb3/wb/gm/gm_content?id_content=5140