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Amory Lovins Getting More Attention: How the U.S. Can Slash Oil Consumption

by Jeffrey Ball, July 25, 2005 Suddenly, lots more people are paying attention to Amory Lovins. Mr. Lovins, a disheveled 57-year-old intellectual whose rsum includes an Oxford University degree and a MacArthur Foundation genius grant, has been tilting at the windmill of U.S. energy policy for more than a generation. He first gained notoriety in 1976, when, in the wake of the Arab oil embargo, he proposed a radical notion: that the smart way to ensure adequate cheap energy for the future was to reduce consumption, rather than increase supply. Since then, Mr. Lovins has built an international reputation as an energy-efficiency guru — and a career as a consultant to dozens of Fortune 500 companies. His base remains the Rocky Mountain Institute in Old Snowmass, Colo., a think tank he founded in 1982 with his former wife, Hunter Lovins. Mr. Lovins’s basic thesis: Energy efficiency is good business because it cuts costs — and that big moves to boost efficiency are better, and ultimately cheaper, than little ones. His latest grand idea: that the U.S. can drastically slash its oil consumption by shifting its auto fleet to vehicles built with carbon composites — materials that are lighter than steel […]

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Canon, Dell Launch Take-Back Programs

Canon has launched a nationwide consumer products recycling program to assist customers in recycling end-of-life Canon products. To recycle eligible Canon products, consumers can log on to http://estore.usa.canon.com/recycle/recycle.asp and for a nominal fee, order a UPS shipping label by clicking the “Recycle Now” button. Customers can recyle a full range of products: binoculars, camcorders, cameras, photo printers, film, scanners, video equipment, scanners, bubble jet products, fax machines, and copiers. For a list of eligible consumer recycling products, log on to http://estore.usa.canon.com/recycle/recycle.asp Goodwill Industries of San Francisco and Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) introduced the San Francisco Bay Area Computer Recycling Project, offering free recycling to residents of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties. The pilot program offers drop-off recycling and reuse options for unwanted computers. The goal of this partnership is to divert at least one million pounds of used computers and computer equipment from landfills over one year and to provide education on the importance of proper computer disposal. Residents can call 888-4-GOODWILL or 866-48 REUSE (73873), or visit www.computerrecyclingproject.com/sanfranciscobayarea, to learn about drop-off options for their unwanted computers and computer equipment at any of 14 convenient Goodwill locations participating. Goodwill Industries of Central Texas partnered with Dell and the City […]

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WorldWater Completes $4.45 Million Financing, Recapitalization

WorldWater & Power Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: WWAT), developer of high-horsepower solar energy systems, has completed a $4 million financing agreement with hedge fund CAMOFI Master LDC, an affiliate of Centrecourt Asset Management, LLC, a New York based asset management firm. In addition to the private placement, the recapitalization includes $450,000 in exercised warrants, and reduction of long-term debt by $900,000 through stock conversions. The financing consists of $3 million of 10% senior secured convertible notes due 2008 and 4,259,260 shares of common stock for a purchase price of $1.02 million. Upon the closing of this private placement, WorldWater received the purchase price for the shares of common stock and $1 million of the purchase price of the convertible notes. The $2 million balance of the purchase price of the convertible notes will be held in escrow by a commercial bank pending the satisfaction of the following conditions: $1,000,000 will be paid to WorldWater from the escrow when the Company’s common stock is trading at or above $0.40 per share and trading volume exceeds 500,000 shares for a period of 10 consecutive days, and $1,000,000 will be paid upon the execution of new contracts for WorldWater’s products and services in […]

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Medis Announces Purchase Agreement for $38 Million Senior Convertible Notes

Medis Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: MDTL) has signed a purchase agreement to offer and sell $38 million Senior Convertible Notes with 6% due 2010. The initial purchaser can buy an additional $7 million for a thirty-day period following the offering date, for a total of up to $45 million aggregate principal amount of notes. The proceeds will be used for the construction, start-up and other costs related to a fully-automated manufacturing line for the Company’s fuel cell products as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes. The offering constituting a private placement under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933 only to qualified institutional buyers. The securities will not be registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. Website: [sorry this link is no longer available]     

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Plug Power Receives Follow-On Order From Tyco

Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG)has received a follow-on order from its distribution partner Tyco Electronics Power Systems, Inc., making the total to 98 orders this year. “Said Mark Sperry, Chief Marketing Officer, “On the strength of this order, we are approximately halfway towards our target of 300 GenCore orders for the year.” As in the previous order for 63 systems, the GenCore systems will be co-branded with both the Tyco Electronics Power Systems and Plug Power brand names and are for deployment to the same major U.S.-based telecommunications provider. GenCore 5T is a 5kW DC backup power system designed specifically for the rigorous demands of the telecommunications outside plant. Launched in 2003 as a premium power solution, GenCore 5T has been deployed with telecommunications carriers and partners in North and South America, United Kingdom, Japan and South Africa. GenCore 5T has been certified in the U.S. to the applicable sections of NEBS (GR-63-CORE, GR-487-CORE and GR-1089-CORE), a rigorous set of equipment standards followed by many telecommunications carriers in the U.S., and in Europe to the CE standards. GenCore 5T provides telecommunication carriers with the ability to increase network reliability while reducing operating costs for their networks. Website: http://www.plugpower.com     

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