Around 100 students are expected to enroll this year in EDGE (Educating and Developing Workers for the Green Economy), a public-private partnership that offers industrial and technical certificate programs in biofuels and biotech production, analysis and processing.
EDGE’s first certificate course began in March at MiraCosta community college in northern San Diego County, and a second set of students will start classes this summer. Tuition will be waved the first two years as the program is tweaked, and course materials will later be packaged for nationwide distribution. A Masters of Advanced Science will be offered next year through the University of California, San Diego for biotech entrepreneurs.
The one-year-old EcoTech Institute near Denver, which earlier this month unveiled a new $10 million flagship campus that will host up to 1,200 students. Some 250 students have been enrolled since last July in two-year associate’s degree programs for wind and solar energy technology, electrical engineering technology, energy efficiency, environmental technology and general renewable energy training.
Where California and Colorado are readying employees for whole new professions, Nevada is looking to recruit new talent and update skills of mature workers for its decades-old geothermal industry. This summer, the National Geothermal Academy will offer its first set of eight weeklong courses on geothermal energy development and utilization at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Aevia — Consider the Source

In Australia, Aurora Algae opened its demonstration facility in Karratha, Western Australia, where the Company’s algae-based biomass is being harvested for products in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, aquaculture and renewable energy markets.
“This would not have been possible with a U.S.-based production facility,” said Greg Bafalis, CEO of Aurora Algae, “where we believe the climatic conditions are not economically viable to produce large-scale, cost-competitive algae products.” The company’s open-pond production method, and proprietary pale green cultivar algae strains, utilize dry, arid climates with large amounts of CO2 and seawater as feed stocks.
Aevia — Consider the Source

World food prices rose to a record in December 2010 on higher sugar, grain and oilseed costs. In the coming decades, there are going to be many more hungry mouths to feed, and as food crop prices rise dramatically, agriculture will become a more lucrative business, encouraging countries to switch economic focus.
Kurdistan has the two primary ingredients to form a successful agricultural economy: Plentiful water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and hectares upon hectares of fertile land that can produce crops. These natural resources have yet to be used efficiently. The water is largely not used; much of it is wasted instead of being dammed and channeled to irrigate agricultural land. With the lack of proper statistics it’s difficult to be accurate, but it’s a fair estimate to say that only around 20 percent of the land is being used for farming. There are many incentives for Kurdistan to make use of its abundant water and fertile land.
Biofuel is going to be only one aspect of a Kurdish agricultural economy. FAO has estimated that global food production will have to rise 70 percent by 2050 as the world population expands by 2 billion.
Aevia — Consider the Source

With projects like Sapphire Energy’s drive to put a huge algae-fuel production facility in the Mexican desert, you’re seeing the first building blocks of world-scale capability for these fuels.
Margaret McCormick, the co-founder and CEO of Seattle-based Matrix Genetics said, “I think that microorganisms can solve most of the problems of the world. If you go back, it was alcohol or it was cheese. There’s so much potential that can be harnessed out of these microorganisms and the DNA that’s in them, and we can look at them to solve all kinds of problems.”
McCormick said the latest phase of alternative fuels work is not purely driven by an economic need to reduce spending on oil, but is also by the need to address climate change and national security issues.
Aevia — Consider the Source

Studies have found that if you do nothing further with newly acquired knowledge, after a few hours you only retain a fraction of what you read, saw or heard. As more time goes on, your retention slides even further.
Learners Retain Approximately:
90% of what they learn when they teach someone else/use immediately.
75% of what they learn when they practice what they learned.
50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion.
30% of what they learn when they see a demonstration.
20% of what they learn from audio-visual.
10% of what they learn when they’ve learned from reading.
5% of what they learn when they’ve learned from lecture.
Ascension University — Source Material

Oil and gas industry executives testified on ending tax breaks for the largest multinational oil and gas companies. Senate Democrats and the Obama administration had proposed ending $21 billion in subsidies for oil companies as a budget deficit reduction measure. The executives said the plan would do little to reduce gas prices and hurt their exploration efforts.

The CEOs of AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel, and consumer and worker advocates testified on the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson argued that the merger will “drive innovation and competitive prices and give customers fewer dropped calls, faster speeds and better broadband Internet service.” Sprint Nextel CEO Daniel Hess spoke against the merger noting that the combined forces of the two companies would roughly control 80 percent of the market.

National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling, Council of Economics Advisers Chairman Austan Goolsbee, SBA Administrator Karen Mills and other Administration officials participate in a kickoff event for Startup America, a national campaign to help America achieve these goals by promoting high-growth entrepreneurship across the country.
 

In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act. — George Orwell

Getting ideas off the ground can require a power surge. In years of detailed observation of successful leaders across sectors and fields, I’ve seen that getting the credibility to reach important goals comes from uplifting actions that increase five personal and organizational powers.

1. Showing up: the power of presence. There’s a well-known saying that 90% of success in life comes from just showing up. It’s a cliché because it’s true. Digital and other remote communications are efficient and helpful, but there’s much to be said for being there, face-to-face with others. I coined the term Management by Flying Around to reflect the work of CEOs of the vanguard companies in my book SuperCorp. Instead of ruling from headquarters, they go out to the field, meet major customers, and press the flesh with government officials.
2. Speaking up: the power of voice. It doesn’t matter who runs the meeting; the de facto leader is the one who frames the debate and articulates the consensus. The power of voice is not mere noise; it comes from the ability to put into words what might be only embryonic, thus shaping the direction for action. Memorable themes provide meaning out of a mass of verbiage. They echo and are repeated, providing a guidance system for companies or countries. Great speeches make great leaders. That’s why every schoolchild should be given opportunities and encouragement to stand up in front of peers and parents to make speeches
3. Teaming up: the power of partnering. Most things worth achieving can’t be done alone. Entrepreneurs need a founding team. Innovators in established companies need a coalition of backers and supporters. Sports teams perform better when athletes help one another hone skills. Physicians seem to get better results for patients when part of a team that shares information and advice. U.S. foreign policy now stresses building regional alliances to promote peace and prosperity. Partnership invites reciprocity — giving as well as getting. Helping a partner can increase individual self-confidence, as my former student Kathy Korman Frey is showing in her new “sisterhood of success” program for women entrepreneurs.
4. Looking up: the power of values. Higher principles help people transcend the conflicts and concerns of the moment. Standing for something larger than mere self-interest gives leaders moral grounding and provides a basis for inspiring and motivating the work. Those who are honored as great leaders are not merely good at getting results efficiently, they are able to find grander goals that help people look up to see the big picture and set their sights higher. NASA chief Charles Bolden, a retired Marine general and former Harvard Advanced Leadership Fellow who is African-American, has spoken eloquently of the role his parents’ values played in his success. They helped him achieve in school and, later, lift himself and others to high places — which he did literally, as an astronaut.
5. Not giving up: the power of persistence. Remember Kanter’s Law and repeat often: Everything can look like a failure in the middle. CEOs and elected officials in the middle of controversial changes have told me that they feel comforted by this idea — if it’s still the middle, there’s always hope. Keep at it, make mid-course adjustments, and surprise the naysayers. Change agents in companies sometimes get approval after repeated turndowns just because they wear out their critics, who run out of arguments. Turnaround leaders certainly know the truth of this. General Motors’ interim CEO Edward Whitacre or New York City school chancellor Joel Klein, from two wildly different sectors, are among those who faced a barrage of criticism when they took office, yet succeeded in silencing the critics by persevering in pursuit of results.

Achieving goals is always a matter of hard work, and success is never guaranteed. Still, cultivating these 5 powers can shift the odds in your favor.
Ascension University — Source Material