In the past five years, “resilience” (the ability to absorb shocks and recover) has become quite a buzzword in the aid community. Discussions on adapting to a changing climate are increasingly peppered with the “need to build resilience” of people, infrastructure and governments in the face of shocks such as soaring temperatures, rising sea levels, severe storms and flooding.

It may be the Chinese new year, but according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, in 2011 the US regained its place as the world’s number one investor in clean energy. The US has reclaimed the top spot from China which has been the leading country since 2008.

According to Ernst & Young’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index, China is the best place in the world for renewable energy investment.

In 2012 it is becoming increasingly clear that sustainability adds value and helps to make an organization more competitive. Sustainability is moving beyond public relations and becoming a matter of survival.

I was reading a long article in the Sunday NYTimes of January 22 about why the iPhone ended up being manufactured in China. The gist of the article is that China simply has developed a factory system we cannot match.

Global investment in clean technology is expected to set a record in 2012 beating the record of $260 billion set in 2011.

“Fiddling while Rome burns” may seem a stale analogy, but when talking of “green growth” and “green economy” (GGE, for short), it is appropriate. Despite assertions to the contrary, the only thing innovative about the GGE concepts is the buzz that surrounds them.

The stock market has not performed well in 2011 and green stocks are no exception. If the US can maintain its current trajectory and Europe can avoid slipping into recession, 2012 may prove to be a better year for the alternative energy and cleantech sector.

If you have been a frequent reader of my articles, you’d know my position on Apple and the manner in which it’s conducted its supply chain sustainability programs…or hasn’t.

When I was a kid, my mom and a bunch of other parents in and around the neighborhood arranged a carpool system whereby each parent would drive a group of kids to school one morning and pick all of us up one afternoon each week.

Members of the US House and Senate, along with hundreds of distinguished guests, convened at the Capitol on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 9 p.m. for President Obama's third State of the Union Address.

As he has done previously in talking about the state of America, President Obama had several things to say about energy in Tuesday night’s speech (transcript here).

The indifference of the Metropolitan Police to the murder of Stephen Lawrence rightly led to private soul-searching and public examination of procedures, and we have to hope that our country (UK) and particularly our police service is better as a result. But there is a more insidious form of racism that goes unquestioned and causes the death of far more people.

The death of cleantech venture capital has been greatly exaggerated. Yes, there were a few massive failures in 2011, and of course it’s been difficult for a number of cleantech venture capitalists to raise funds. However, cleantech did not implode, and neither did venture capital.

The New York cleanweb hackathon organizers, which included Sunil, Blake Burris of Dynamo Labs, Micah Kotch from NYC ACRE, Nicholas Eisenberger of Pure Energy Partners, Matt Solt of Civvic, and a number of others, put on a great show and took a big step forward in evangelizing the cleanweb movement.

Abu Dhabi showed heavy involvement in water this week, with the announced completion of 22 solar desalination projects and the hosting of a delegation of water and wastewater industry experts from the UK.

Agriculture has been seen either as a cause or victim of global warming at the UN climate change talks over the past few years - something that has thwarted efforts to attract the investment it needs, say scientists.

In search of a winter getaway that’s tons of fun, easy on the planet -- and maybe even educational? Whether you and your family like it frosty or tropical, there’s an eco-friendly vacation waiting for you.

Going green isn’t exactly easy to do by your lonesome. Few of us are experts in the fields of energy innovation, nor do we have the skills to assess our individual circumstances and lifestyles and come to practical conclusions about how to save energy.

A recent report from the Worldwatch Institute stated that global meat consumption is up 20% over the past 10 years. The report claims the majority of the increase is from developed nations and the expanding size of factory farms.

It is in our human nature to be fallible, to make mistakes and to compromise. But when should we accept and tolerate our errors and when shouldn’t we? Some of our mistakes are not deliberate and yet can have devastating …

Mega social networking site Facebook has long been urged by Greenpeace to “unfriend coal,” and to switch to greener energy. The first indication that Facebook was moving into a more eco-friendly direction was in October, when the social networking giant announced that they would be building a new center in Sweden