CT Green Scene

Book Swap

by Eileen Weber

 If you’re like me, you have enough books on your bookshelf to choke a horse. Occasionally, I’ll sift through them and take some of them to the library. But for the most part, I stock my bookcases with the books I buy. They just sit there, staring at me like lonely children waiting to play a game.

But there is hope for the pack rat that lurks in all of us. With web sites like Biblio.com, BetterWorldBooks.com, and PaperBackSwap.com, your used books won’t go to waste. They recycle old textbooks, paperbacks, and in some cases, CDs and DVDs. You got it? They want it.

Biblio.com, a company based in Asheville, North Carolina, purchases used, rare, and out-of-print books to sell online. They have been in business since 2003 and recently launched their U.K. version earlier this year. With a range of topics, you can get art and architecture to poetry to science to religion to health and fitness, and everything in between.

It’s a great site to go to if you belong to a bookgroup or, even better, if you’re a student living on a shoestring budget. Just a cursory look for a classic like Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter gave a long list of copies available for only $1. For a starving college kid living off Mac and Cheese and Ramen noodles, that leaves enough cash in your pocket for beer.

Green Business and Smart Investing

by Tracey Donner Finch

According to Matthew J. Kiernan, Ph.D. author of the timely book Investing in a Sustainable World: Why Green is the New Color of Money on Wall Street (Amacon, 2009), "President-Elect Barack Obama must turn sustainability into a competitive advantage to solve America's economic crisis."  Hopefully, Obama's administration will take environmental and social (ES) issues into account on every major decision made in the future.

In a recent Booz Allen study, the sustainable investment market will reach $26 trillion by 2015, or 20% of the total investment market. Be on top of the mega-trend of the 21st century by adding this book to your reading list.  

Here are some of Do's and Don'ts of Sustainable Investment:

Do make sure your money managers have access to top-quality research.

Don't use sustainability in isolation.  Combine it with other quantitative investment research.

Don't expect perfection from your advisor. 

Don't presume that all sustainability factors are relevant to all investment decisions.

Don't assume that each of the "4 Pillars of Sustainability" - Environment, Human Capital, Stakeholder Capital and Strategic Governance is equally relevant to a particular company.   

Glenn Croston: A Blueprint for Business Success

by Tracey Finch

Some of the most successful businesses today grew out of the Great Depression. That's right. Fortune magazine is one, and there are many more. For where there's a meltdown, there is space for innovation and determination to grab a foot hold and climb out of the rubble.

So go ahead, put your thinking cap on and grab a copy of "75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference," by Glenn Croston, Ph.D.

It outlines opportunities, describes current and projected market need, what you need to know to get started, what kind of capital is required, and some of the special challenges you can expect along the way.

Glenn was kind enough to spend some time with CT GreenScene to give us some insight into where he thinks things in the green business arena are heading.

GS: What specific industry is leading the way in the green revolution?

GC: Renewable energy is poised to make a bigger impact than ever on the economy and the health of the planet.  Solar, wind, and other forms of renewable energy have a number of factors that will support their continued rapid growth, even in the face of the current economic turmoil.  Providing cost effective clean energy will help our national security, fight climate change, create jobs, and get our economy back on track. 

GS: What are your favorite big name companies with bold initiatives?

GC: Green leaders like Gary Hirshberg at Stoneyfield Farms and Ray Anderson at Interface have shown that they can grow a successful business while still doing the right thing for the planet.  They have been taking the lead and providing it can be done, which is pretty bold. 

The many car makers poised to transform our automotive industry are bold players.  If the big automakers like GM can't do it, it will leave the opportunity open to small companies like Aptera.  When the auto industry emerges from its current trials with a new variety of electric cars and plug-ins coming to market, it may look very different than it does today. 

GS: What's a promising green product or service?