• Google just made a lot of people happy.  For what seems like ever, I’ve been hearing people continually ask why biking is not an option on Maps.  Well, in true Google fashion, they waited until they got it right.
• Today they’ve added the long-awaited feature to Google Maps along with “extensive bike trail data.”
• You can even choose routes that avoid hills….Yes! Now you can be non-lazy and lazy all at the same time!
• Pedal yourself over to the official Google Blog for further details on the new feature.

• Tesla Motors announced last week that they’ve filed plans for their Initial Public Offering.
• They are seeking to raise $100 million through the IPO.
• To date, Tesla has raised $240 million from investors and VC’s as well as a $465 million loan from the DOE.

• Ladies & Gentleman…finally there’s something worth writing about.  After literal years of rumors and predictions, Apple has unveiled its tablet-based computer, appropriately titled the iPad.
• Watch a quick video overview of it here.
• Price starts at $499 for the 16GB WiFi ranging all the way up to $829 for the 64GB WiFi & 3G.
• Does this signify the soon-to-come death of Amazon’s Kindle?  Will the device be widely adopted by the health industry? ….only time will tell, but surely it will be exciting to see.

• This is a great little video via KarmaTube
• I’ll let them do the talking: “As the structures of modern society crumble, this video contemplates a set of unexamined assumptions that form the very basis of our civilization. In a beautifully shot 25-minute retrospective, it asks us to reflect on the state of the world and ourselves–and to listen more closely to what is being asked of us at this time of unprecedented global transformation.
• It’s 2010….let’s do this right. We need everyone’s help.

• Hey all!  Sorry we’ve been out for a while, it’s been a hectic few months for both Jason and I.  That being said, I figured I’d atleast catch you up on what’s been going on in the world of green over the last month or so. Here we go:
• DOE:  Steven Chu just announced $620 million in additional stimulus funds for Smart Grid Projects.  He does think, however, that we’re falling behind in the global clean energy race, citing the example that China’s spending $9 billion a month on clean energy.
• Warren Buffet claimed that all cars will be electric by 2030…oh, no kidding Warren? …take your electric car…by 2030, I’ll be dippin’ in something powered by some form of this.
• A123 Systems: Recently released their first earnings report as a public company.
• Tesla:  Speaking of electric cars, Tesla says they’re 99.9% done finding the place where they’ll manufacture the Model S.  Also, there’s been some recent hype about their impending IPO.
• GM:  Even though they just reported a $1.2 billion loss, it looks like the Volt is still a go, what with the announcement that California will be the first to launch it.
• Fisker:  Same ish, different company…Fisker has delayed it’s Karma launch to September 2010….can’t say that wasn’t expected.
• Vectrix:  Hey, they’re recovering from the recent bankruptsy. Great!
• Longyuan Power Group Corp: Asia’s largest wind energy generator is planning a huge IPO in a few days that’s expected to raise $2.2 billion.

• With 300 million users, you can imagine that Facebook is becoming quite the data center energy hog.
• Good news is that they’re making changes to ensure Facebook is getting more efficient.
• They just leased more data space from Fortune Data Centers in San Jose.
• Fortune utilizes water-side economizers, environmental monitoring, and hot/cold air containment, which are all staples of an efficient data center.
• They’ve signed 4 new leases this year alone, all of which have been to centers on track for LEED gold status.

• Sharp just announced a new record in solar cell conversion efficiency.
• The new material is a high-efficiency crystalline compound called indium-gallium-arsenide which assisted in bumping the  record from previous 31.5% to 35.8% efficiency.
• Well done Sharp, wonder who will push it over 40%, any ideas?

• The Windows 7 hype has been a little overbearing for the last couple months, but it sounds like there might be a great deal of good that comes out of the new OS, no matter hard it is for me to say.
• Along with promises to drive down the cost of computers and change the memory business for good, Windows 7 also makes some pretty notable efforts to reduce energy.
• Microsoft says that “Windows 7 runs with fewer background activities so your PC processor doesn’t work as hard and draws less power. Other innovations include less power-hungry DVD playback (handy on long flights), automatic screen dimming, powering off unused ports, and a more accurate battery-life indicator. So you’ll be less likely to be surprised by a dead battery.”
• If you think about the fact that PC’s and their respective third party hardware additions make up 60% of all the energy consumed by the IT industry, you can understand how big of an effect Windows 7 will have on energy reduction and even further, greenhouse gas reduction.
• Now if they could only get their marketing in order they might be somewhere.

1. Top 10 solar technologies to watch out for.
2. Door opens for Aptera, 3 wheelers to grab DOE green car funds.
3. How Fort Irwin just signed the largest solar farm in the department of defense’s history.
4. After Bitter Feud, hybrid car startup, Greentech plans $6.5 billion plant.
5. Tata Nano increases production to keep up with strong demand.  Like I said, a carbon emissions nightmare.

• This is big.  Not just blogosphere big…..this is complete cultural shift big.
• Yale Physicists have for the first time in history made a definitive measurement of a “persistent current.”
• This persistent current, they describe as a “small but perpetual electric current that flows naturally through tiny rings of metal wire even without an external power source.”
• That’s right folks, a completely sustainable form of energy has been discovered.
• For years, these kind of studies have been covered up and slandered as fringe science and the work of conspiracy theorists, but now, with a school like Yale putting their name behind it, there’s no telling what’s to come next.  Exciting.

• George Soros, Hedge-fund manager and billionaire just went green.
• He recently announced that he would be investing over $1 billion of his own cash into clean energy technology.
• Of course, he’s doing this because of the profitability of it all, and what hedge-fund manager would do it for anything else?  Although, he did mention that the investment should “actually make a contribution to solving the problem.”
• Congrats Soros, you’re a winner, now just convince your friends to stop being cheap bastards and do the right thing as well.

• Look at that face.  This man isn’t messing around.  He wants cleantech, and he wants it now.
• That’s why he’s made statements like this; “If it were up to me, I would put every cent into electric cars.”  I like your blunt nature, sir.
• Already, the DOE’s put billions into the auto industry for plug-in vehicles: Ford ($5.9 billion), Nissan ($1.6 billion), Tesla ($465 million) and Fisker ($528 million).
• I know a lot of people don’t like him.  I say, let’s re-visit this topic 3 years down the line, I think they’ll be singing a different tune by then.

• A new national survey just came out from Kelton Research that shows some serious support for solar power:

92% of Americans think it is important for the nation to develop and use solar energy. This was consistent across all political party affiliations.

77% of Americans feel the Federal government should make solar power development a national priority, including the financial support needed.

Almost half (49%) of all Americans are currently pondering solar power options for their home or business.

43% of Americans make solar their top energy source, followed far behind by other sources including their second choice, wind (17%).

• That’s pretty awesome.  Progress is coming.

• GM just sold 80% of the Hummer brand to Tengzhong and 20% to a private investor for $150 million.  They apparently have plans to manufacture a “green” hummer.  Good luck with that.

• Norway just committed to reducing 40% of their emissions by 2020.
• That’s the most ambitious goal by any rich country yet.  Bold.  Green.  Awesome.