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Innovation for businesses and governments going green is becoming more intense daily. The opportunity to sell to and meet the needs of these businesses is ever increasing.
• Iowa Stored Energy Park is a group of utilities in Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas that plans to store wind energy. The energy will be shipped via power grid to a site near Des Moines. Motor driven machines will use the electricity to compress air into acquifers 3000 feet below the ground. As needed, the air pressure will be released, enhancing the efficiency of gas-powered turbines. The stored energy could produce enough electricity for 75,000 homes.

• Plastic grocery bags are being banned in so many places from San Francisco in California to St. Barth in the Caribbean. Supermarkets are finding replacements, including bags made of cornstarch, which are biodegradable in as little as three months. The liquor stores in British Columbia, Canada offer reusable bags that have dividers inside to separate up to six bottles of your favorite beverage.

• Hotels are meeting the demands of their guests. In a 2005 survey Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants determined that 16% of guests selected their properties because of the companies environmental policies. This percentage has soared in recent years. Hotels are using eco-friendly designers, furnishings, CFL bulbs, bamboo floorings, low VOC paint and of course restaurants are using organic ingredients in their meals.

• Restaurants, like the famous Araxis Restaurant in the Whistler ski resort, are adopting principles of "The 100 Mile Diet" book and finding that patrons love the idea. Organic growers can take advantage of these principles to increase sales. Visit www.100milediet.org to learn more.

• Furniture stores are discovering the soaring sales of eco-friendly furnishings.

Roof of new Vancouver Convention Center Expansion

• Construction of homes, commercial and industrial projects are rapidly adopting techniques and ideas that some might have considered crazy only a few years ago. The new convention center expansion in Vancouver, Canada is currently installing a six-acre "living roof." The energy-savings are projected to be considerable. How many buildings in North America might be interested in this technology?

• Taxi companies everywhere are adopting small car, energy-efficient technologies. Many fleets are now 100% Prius. Messengers and service companies are putting the new "Smart car" to use at a rapid rate.

• Biodynamic farming is becoming widespread. What is biodynamic wine? What are the opportunities?

    Roof of new Vancouver Convention Center Expansion

Visit this space often to learn what's happening with the above and many more "green" techniques, products and ideas.