There is a certain irony in 300 people traveling from around the world on CO2 (that's "cee oh two") spewing jets and cars to attend a conference in Aspen where one of the main topics is how to solve the global warming problem.
But this year's attendees need not fret because Bill Gross, the CEO of the Pasadena, CA start-up, Energy Innovations, has made the Brainstorm conference carbon neutral.
Gross estimates that the attendees would add some 750,000 pounds of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas to the environment from their travel and from the energy they burn up staying in hotels and airconditioning the meeting rooms.
To conteract the effect of this greenhouse gas, Gross paid to have trees planted and alternative energy generated. On the panel, Green Is The New Bottom Line, he urged every individual to calculate their own carbon footprint (the amount each of us generate each year in greenhouse gas) to buy renewable energy certificates through carbonfund.com, a website that helps reduce the cost of clean energy.
Gross also added that his new solar device, the Sunflower, is now on the market and will help make alternative energy more affordable. The device, a panel of mirrors, concentrates sunlight and makes solar panels more efficient. Gross hopes the Sunflower, coupled with other breakthroughs in photovoltaics, the science of turning sunlight directly into electricity without the release of any greenhouse gases, will soon become competitive in price with fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. Posted by Brian Dumaine