Segetis
(based in Minneapolis, MN) is a company that has found a way to take
biomass from wood pulp, corn stover, palm fronds or even mixed
municipal waste and create a chemical, levulinic ketal, that can then be made into other chemicals that are currently derived from oil and natural gas. (They have job openings.) Other companies in the same arena, turning biomass into useful chemicals, include Genomatica, OPX Biotechnologies, and Nature Works.
Electron Stimulated Luminescence or ESL light bulbs are the product of VU1 (based in Seattle, WA). ESL bulbs do not contain the mercury amounts that Compact Florescence Light-bulbs (CFL) do, nor do they create as much heat as Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs do, they can last about 6,000 hours and match current incandescent bulbs in light color. The price of the bulbs for in-ceiling canisters is expected to be around $20. The company is working on other size and shape bulbs also.
There are those who are now using the term "peak water" to describe the human use and misuse of water, and others such as IBM that are creating ways for homeowners in Dubuque, Iowa to monitor their water usage. In the near future companies may need to know their "water footprint" and how to reduce its size.
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