IN BUSINESS WORLD

In Business, March-April, Vol. 29, No. 2, p. 4

DEMAND FOR LOCALLY GROWN FOOD CONTINUES TO INCREASE
Foods grown on smaller farms close to home is part of a larger trend that food industry analysts say is gaining ground among consumers willing to pay a little more for quality food. As a result, people who grow food on small farms on a more regional scale are finding new eaters. They are also avoiding

traditional sales methods and marketing approaches, says a recent report by Kim Severson in the small business section of The New York Times. Instead of trying to break in to large distribution chains and fighting for shelf space, they find that smaller is better. The idea is to appeal to consumers who think that food grown regionally or produced by ecofriendly operations is fresher and tastes better. The increasing numbers of farmer markets make a big difference for regional producers with the number doubling to 3,800 since 1994, according to the USDA.

OHIO ENTREPRENEURS CELEBRATE CHAMPIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY
Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (referred to as E4S) was founded in December 2000 when Holly Harlan, a leading Cleveland, Ohio economic development professional , joined forces with several local business owners who wanted to accelerate sustainability into business practices. The group celebrated the 2006 Champions of Sustainability last year, when a committee selected winners based on several criteria: Translatable success and overall impact on “the triple bottom line” - i.e., people, planet and prosperity. Parker Bosley, owner of Parker's New America Bistro, won an award for Local Food because of his utilizing as many local relationships between farmers and restaurants for more than 22 years. Parker's Bistro is one of only 10 restaurants nationwide to source 100 percent of its products from the local community. An article in the next issue of In Business will provide details on Holly Harlan, the group's history and accomplishments.

NEW URBANISM GROWS IN ISSUES … AND LAUNCHES A DIRECTORY
The term, New Urbanism, was used in the early 1990s by Rob Steuteville - a former editor here at In Business - to describe the work of a group of architects and urban designers who were recovering traditional principles of city and town building, and applying them to land-use problems. From its early days, explains Steuteville, New Urbanism has been a multidisciplinary movement, combining significant contributions from developers, planners, and professionals of many specialties. And, this movement has been growing into an industry. Rob's publication, New Urban News, (now at volume 12) captures the broad range of issues.
In addition to the newsletter, a Directory of the New Urbanism has been published which is described as “the ultimate reference on who's who, who's doing what where, and who's using what where - covering people, places and products.” Continues Steuteville: “New urbanists work in a wide variety of fields, from regional planning to form-based codes, from “new towns” to revitalization and infill, from brownfield redevelopment to transit-oriented town centers.”
For details on subscribing to New Urban News, contact the publication in Ithaca (PO Box 6515, Ithaca, New York 1851); or call (607) 275-3087. Cost is $79/year; the Directory is priced at $55.

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM WARREN BUFFETT
Mary Buffett and David Clark have written a book called The Tao of Warren Buffett, published by Scribner. “For 12 years, from 1981 to 1993, I was the daughter-in-law of Warren Buffett, the world's most successful investor and now its greatest philanthropist.” Shortly after she married Warren's son Peter, she visited their family home in Omaha, where she met a small group of “Buffettologists” - one of whom was David Clark who “kept notebooks filled with Warren's wisdom on investing. Out of those notebooks were the foundation for aphorisms “that were akin to the teachings of a Taoist master,” writes Mary Buffett. “The more I heard Warren speak, the more I learned, not only about investing, but about business and life. His aphorisms have a way of staying with you. … Keeping with the Taoist-like spirit that surrounds Warren's teachings, David and I thought that it would be fun to create The Tao.” And so it is - the pages filled with aphorisms that run from 1 to 125.
No. 1 begins: “The great secret to getting rich is getting your money to compound for you, and the larger sum you start with, all the better.”
No. 125 goes like this: “Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.” According to the Buffettologist's interpretation of this aphorism, money only makes you more of what you already are … At the end of the day, good people are good people whether they be rich or poor - but what is important is that they are good people, not whether they are rich or poor.

CALIFORNIA MANDATE ON GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS SETS EXAMPLE FOR NEW YORK
In October, California became the first state to mandate reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from every sector of the economy. The plan calls for reducing such emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, with a longer-range goal of an 80 percent reduction by 2050. And in January, Governor Schwarzenegger ordered refineries and other fuel producers to reduce emissions by 10 percent, largely through development of alternative fuels. California has also warned that it will stop buying electricity from power producers outside the state that produce heavy carbon dioxide emissions.
Across the nation, in New York state, Governor Eliot Spitzer - who built a formidable environmental record of his own as attorney general - has endorsed all of these programs. But, writes The New York Times, he will have to go further if he intends to match Mr. Schwarzenegger. Among other things, he must help get the regional greenhouse initiative up and running, and make sure that any new power plants built to meet the state's energy needs use the most modern technologies and add as little as possible to the atmosphere's already heavy carbon burden.

CALIFORNIA WINE GROWERS SHOW INCREASED USE OF SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
Based on results by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, there was a 24 percent increase in the number of wineries and vineyard businesses in the state using practices sensitive to the environment and society at large. “The California wine industry has embraced sustainable wine growing because it is comprised predominantly of families and businesses committed to the land and their local communities,” says Bobby Koch, CEO of the Wine Institute. Adds Karen Ross, president of the Winegrape Growers Association: “Our environmental commitment also contributes to the state's appeal as a great place to live, work and visit.” Increases in environmental practices included use of reduced-risk pesticides, up 18 percent; employee training, up 16 percent; predatory mite releases, up 44 percent.

TAPPING THE POWER OF THE HUMAN BODY TO MAKE RENEWABLE ENERGY
The California Fitness health club in Hong Kong has several tests underway to create renewable energy. Experiments range from a dance floor that generates electricity from dancer vibrations to energy harvesting shoes that convert motion from walking into electricity, writes The Wall Street Journal. The gym chain has set up 13 machines, and when all are in use, the power generated amounts to about 300 watts - enough to run three 27-inch TV sets, five 60-watt light bulbs, or several hundred video iPods. Scientists call such devices “parasitic” generators, with many projects focusing on seeking to focus on harvesting energy from crowds.
Some research is leading into business development. Larry Rome, a biology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has launched a firm called Lightning Packs that aims to sell backpacks that generate electricity. His research was partly funded by the National Institute of Health, which wanted to see if power-generating backpacks could refrigerate vaccine supplies in outlying areas.
The project at California Fitness Spa was instigated by a member, Doug Woodring, an energy entrepreneur who introduced the management to his business partner Lucien Gambarota, a 49-year-old Italian inventor whose creation includes a light-up lollipop that makes your cheeks glow red. Their business is called Motorwave Ltd., which seeks to generate power from the motion of ocean waves. The California Fitness U.S. parent is watching the Hong Kong experiment closely and would consider a “global rollout” if the Hong Kong project succeeds. The company has 3 million members and 400 gyms in the U.S.

THE TOP TEN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS
Compiled by Earth Day Network, the Urban Environment Report listed the 10 top U.S. cities: Fargo, North Dakota; Burlington, Vermont; Portland, Oregon; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Boise, Idaho; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Anchorage, Alaska. The report - available online, www.earthday.net - evaluated environmental performance including toxics and waste; air quality; drinking and surface water; quality of life issues such as safety, income, transportation, education, parks, and how city leaders are responding to effects of climate change and global warming.
Meanwhile, on the flip side of the list, the bottom 10 - beginning with number 63 and going through 72 - are: Dallas, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; Newark, New Jersey; New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; El Paso, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; Miami, Florida; and Detroit, Michigan.

AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
The latest issue of Small Farm News published by the University of California, has a definition of sustainable agriculture assembled by the California Roundtable on Agriculture and the Environment - an alliance of agricultural, conservation, environmental and public agency leaders. The group seeks “to promote an agriculture that is economically viable, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. By economically viable, we mean agriculture that is profitable and long-lasting. By environmentally sustainable, we mean the production, processing, transport and consumption of farm products conserve natural resources and protects human and ecosystem health. By socially responsible, we mean contributing to the needs of the community. … We believe that agricultural producers, consumers, policymakers and public interest organizations must all play a critical role in achieving these objectives.”
…“Everyone, from producers to international food company CEOs, should appreciate that to have a sustainable food system, everyone in the system has to be a partner in the value chain, with at least a living wage. As someone said after the Enron and other high profile collapses, “Capitalism without a conscience is not sustainable.”

FROM DOT-COMING TO ENERGY INVESTING
Alternative energy is making its presence known in the investment field. Writes The New York Times, in a front-page article, March 14, 2007: “Out of the ashes of the Internet bust, many technology veterans have regrouped and found a new mission in alternative energy: Developing wind power, solar panels, ethanol plants and hydrogen-powered cars. It is no secret that venture capitalists have begun pouring billions into energy-related start-ups with names like SunPower, Nanosolar and Lilliputian Systems.” Entrepreneurs from all backgrounds (especially former dot-commers) express a sense of wonder at the thought of transforming the $1 trillion domestic energy market while saving the planet.
Andrew Beebe, who ran Bigstep.com which helped small businesses sell online, is now president of Energy Innovations, which makes low-cost solar panels. For many in Silicon Valley, high-tech has given way to “clean tech,” the term for innovations that are energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Continues the Times: The same silicon used to make computer chips converts sunlight into electricity on solar panels, while the bioscience used to make new drugs can be employed to develop better ethanol processing.
In the first three quarters of 2006, venture capital firms put $474 million into a broad range of Silicon Valley start-ups in energy storage, generation and efficiency. The region is described as getting a lift from the public's interest in finding energy sources and from government involvement in creating policies that promote such sources.

Copyright 2007, The JG Press, Inc.