Innovation // Current

Better World Business From Europe

America used to be the vanguard for change and innovation. Apple, Microsoft, Google,... more

3BLMedia
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Terrafon plays the earth as an instrument

If the earth could make music, what kind of songs would it sing? This crazy... more

Tyrannous
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8 days ago
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Trash-Powered Street Lamp!

Think about how much trash goes into a bin in, say, New York City’s Times Square on... more

Tyrannous
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Fixing what isn’t broken

hoosierdaddy
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21 days ago
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Time banks thrive in the midst of the recession

What is time? A storm in which we are all lost, but this is a great idea!

franksalot
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24 days ago
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2 comments

Ridgeblade Wind Turbine Silences NIMBYs

Rooftop solar panels are unlikely to elicit complaints from neighbors–they’re... more

slovelett
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San Diego Zoo's Newest Exhibit: Innovation

In 2008, the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park—one of the nation's leading zoos and a global leader in saving endangered species—came to a realization: despite more than 4.5 million annual visitors and $200 million in annual revenues, the organization itself was on an unsustainable path.

Founded in 1916 with the three-part mission of recreation, education, and conservation, the zoo was still on target to show an operating profit of $13 million despite the market panic that pushed many companies and nonprofits into the red. But as Chief Financial Officer Paula Brock told the executive committee, the long-standing model of funding conservation research and educational initiatives from entertainment revenues (tickets, food, and merchandise) and donations couldn't be maintained—attendance simply wouldn't rise as fast as the costs of maintaining a 2,000-person enterprise.

The zoo had to innovate. And it has, by identifying new ways to connect with visitors and finding lucrative revenue sources such as long-term business consulting and events like a recent sold-out biomimicry conference and a planned expo showcasing eco-friendly products.

Taking the San Diego Zoo & Wildlife Park as a guide, here's a look at how an organization or company can grow through innovation.

Any project should begin with asking the right question. San Diego started with this one: How do we position ourselves as a world leader in conservation so that we can attract more funding?

Jump Associates, a San Mateo (Calif.)-based growth-strategy firm, helped the zoo widen its inquiry. "We asked them to think about how they could develop a sustainable growth strategy by identifying new revenue streams to fund conservation and grow the business," says Lara Lee, the Jump principal who led the project.

Brock describes the next phase of the process as "corporate psychoanalysis." Lee's team talked to employees from all departments about the organization's strengths and weaknesses, and then asked visitors about their perceptions of the zoo and attitudes towards conservation. They found, for instance, that while visitors care about the planet, they didn't use the word "conservation" and they didn't know exactly how to proceed. Whose advice should they trust? What individual effort that they made would have an impact on the world?

Combining that input with a broad rethinking of the zoo's competitors in the conservation arena—from other zoos and traditional conservation organizations to entertainment and retail brands—Lee created an "opportunity map," or a visual representation of the marketplace.

The Opportunity Map
The map had four quadrants defined by two axes. The axes that Jump and the 12-member zoo team chose were critical, because they framed the market in a way that revealed different opportunities. The team could have looked at the market in terms of local vs. global efforts, animals vs. habitats, or nonprofit vs. for-profit. Ultimately, they decided on individual needs vs. the world's needs as the horizontal axis, and direct vs. indirect involvement running vertically.

"By re-examining the conservation landscape through the needs of ordinary people, we discovered that the San Diego Zoo's key competitors aren't obvious players like the Bronx Zoo or even Disney's (DIS) Animal Kingdom—they're organizations like Whole Foods (WFMI) and Discovery Communications (DISCA) that also meet people where they are on issues of conservation," says Lee.In 2008, the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park—one of the nation's leading zoos and a... more

vincius
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1 month ago
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Rocking Chair Powers Its Attached OLED Lamp Just by Rocking -

I like to rock

franksalot
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Solar cell efficiency increased by incorporating ionic salts

Within the Consolider HOPE project (projects funded by the Ministry of Innovation and Science), a group of scientists at Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO), headed by Juan Antonio Anta, are working on the optimisation of a type of photovoltaic cell (Grätzel cell) that artificially mimics photosynthesis.

Grätzel cells are photovoltaic devices that take advantage of the interaction of a structured semiconductor less than nanometre in size and an organic dye that acts as a solar collector.

According to Elena Guillén, member of UPO's Coloides y Celdas Solares Nanoestructuradas (Nanostructured Colloids and Solar Cells) Group, this dye can be either synthetic or natural and can even enable the use of chlorophyll for this type of cell.

Thus, researchers at UPO have begun a study with which they hope to increase the efficiency of these eosin or mercurochrome -based organic components by incorporating ionic salts, known as green solvents, with a view to preventing evaporation of the liquid compounds and the consequent reduction in efficiency.

Previous studies show that ionic salts are less volatile and it is this characteristic that the group headed by Professor Anta seeks to exploit. "Notwithstanding its liquid state, these types of solvents have high viscosity levels and, therefore, during the coming months we will continue our study, working on different alternatives within ionic liquids, their synthesis, etc.," comments Elena Guillén.

The pros and cons of the new generation

Although there are already some third generation cells on the market (for example, for recharging mobile phones), according to the researchers their practical use is anecdotal. However, due to their properties of flexibility and variety of colours and shapes, the future of these cells lies in new market niches such as decoration or use in coloured windows that not only allow light through but use this light to generate electricity.

On the other hand, apart from the rapid amortisation of energy production costs -estimated in one year's use-, there is also the low cost of the materials. "Organic materials are usually cheaper," affirms the researcher, despite which the search continues for an alternative organic dye to the one currently used, derived from ruthenium.Within the Consolider HOPE project (projects funded by the Ministry of Innovation and... more

JanforGore
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1 month ago
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Need Money for an Amazing Project? Just Ask.

Kickstarter

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1 month ago
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Solar powered parking lot light delivers affordable off-grid illumination

Carmanah Technologies has unveiled the newest design in solar LED lighting: the... more

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1 month ago
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Driving on Glass? Inventor Hopes to Lay Down Solar Roads

A truck tire supporting a 36,300-kilogram load repeatedly traverses an 18-meter... more

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1 month ago
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Microsoft Demos Prototype Multi-Touch Mice

"The other day, I went on a short tour of some of Microsoft’s Labs, where they do... more

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20-gadgets-that-innovate-ordinary-things

Do you love gadgets? Well, if you are going to answer “No”, you probably just... more

franksalot
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1 month ago
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San Diego Zoo Conservation Research Biomimcry Symposium

BIOMIMICRY: THE NEXT WAVE OF INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY Biomimicry is the... more

vincius
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1 month ago
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Konarka introduces solar panels for portable charging apps

Solar on the go. ;-) Excerpt: Konarka Technologies has unveiled a line of solar... more

JanforGore
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Paul Stamets with Reishi mushrooms in growroom at Fungi Perfecti

Paul Stamets shows Red Reishi Mushrooms, Ganoderma lucidum var. resinaceum growing at... more

Tyrannous
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Breaking ground with a 1.6 billion plan to tame water

Philadelphia has announced a $1.6 billion plan to transform the city over the next 20 years by embracing its storm water - instead of hustling it down sewers and into rivers as fast as possible.

The proposal, which several experts called the nation's most ambitious, reimagines the city as an oasis of rain gardens, green roofs, thousands of additional trees, porous pavement, and more.

All would act as sponges to absorb - or at least stall - the billions of gallons of rainwater that overwhelm the city sewer system every year.

The plan's complex funding formula would raise rates somewhat but also attract grants and encourage private investment.

Further, the Water Department says the city's greening would result in more jobs, higher property values, better air quality, less energy use, and even fewer deaths - from excess heat.

The plan is a radical departure from the highly engineered tunnels and sewage plant expansions cities have traditionally opted for.

"This is the most significant use of green infrastructure I've seen in the country, the largest scale I've seen," said Jon Capacasa, regional director of water protection for the Environmental Protection Agency, which has the final say on whether the plan passes muster.

"We commend Philadelphia for breaking the ice," he said.

Whether the plan will work as the department intends is still being analyzed by regulators and environmental experts. (This will take a while. The printed plan is 3,369 pages.)

Theoretically, it's workable, said the Natural Resources Defense Council's water expert, Nancy Stoner. The green techniques "are well-demonstrated," she said. "It's the scaling up that's new. That's what's really exciting."

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Water is the most basic and precious element on Earth. It's spiritual and physical properties are the source of all life. The Water Is Life Group on Current will report on and discuss all facets of its presence on Earth, especially in light of the current global water crisis we face due to waste, pollution, privitization, climate change, and lack of political and moral will. So if you thirst for knowledge and information about this most precious and sacred resource, please join the Water Is Life group.

http://current.com/groups/water-is-life/Philadelphia has announced a $1.6 billion plan to transform the city over the next 20... more