After months of negotiating, 196 individual countries at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris pledged to combat climate change and limit temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. This commitment to curb carbon emissions is unprecedented, especially when you consider the stakes. The agreement effectively creates a collective carbon ceiling. If the globe … Continue reading “In India, Viewing the Global Cleantech Opportunity for Washington State”
Author: Tom Ranken
J. Thomas Ranken is the President & CEO of CleanTech Alliance Washington, the nation’s largest state-level clean technology industry association representing more than 300 businesses and organizations. He has been an entrepreneur and management consultant. Tom co-founded and was CEO of VizX Labs, which developed the GeneSifter software system used to make discoveries about genes. Tom also led a team that turned around Axio Research Corporation following significant losses, which was later sold to Solutia. He directed public affairs at Immunex Corporation and was President of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association. He spent seven years in banking. Tom has an MBA from the University of Washington and a BA in economics from the University of Virginia. Tom spent 14 years as a Trustee of Harborview Medical Center including serving as President of the Board. He has served on the Boards of VizX Labs, Axio Research, WBBA, Technology Alliance, University Sunrise Rotary Club, Seattle Mental Health, Council of State Bioscience Associations, Crisis Clinic, the Emerging Companies Section of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and others. On the weekends, he plays guitar and is Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 80.
Canceling Washington R&D Incentives Will Erase Success
This post was co-authored by Ranken and Eric Viola, the Washington Clean Technology Alliance’s public policy analyst. Washington state’s principal high tech innovation tax incentives are set to expire on January 1. Adopted in 1994, the programs removed large tax barriers to performing new research and development activities in Washington. They have been counted on … Continue reading “Canceling Washington R&D Incentives Will Erase Success”
Is Natural Gas Really the Next Big Thing?
Is natural gas the new next big thing? It is called a revolution in energy and a game-changer. Daniel Yergin claims that “the rapidity and sheer scale of the shale breakthrough—and its effects on markets—qualified it as the most significant innovation in energy so far since the start of the twenty-first century.” The President has … Continue reading “Is Natural Gas Really the Next Big Thing?”
Greenpeace and Michele Bachmann’s Joint Campaign to Stop Science
I took the family to Boston on vacation in September. During the time away, I read Patrick Moore’s book “Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout: The Making of a Sensible Environmentalist.“ Dr. Moore was one of the original founders of Greenpeace in the 1970s. I heard him speak recently. While he remains a passionate advocate for … Continue reading “Greenpeace and Michele Bachmann’s Joint Campaign to Stop Science”
Don’t Believe the Hype: Cleantech Is Creating Jobs Now, And Can Generate Many More
There has been endless hype about the so-called clean economy-from both ends of the spectrum. It has been called both “a compelling aspiration and an enigma” and it has been difficult to assess. Discussion has frequently been short on facts and long on anecdotes, speculation, assertion, and partisanship. This is due, in no small part, … Continue reading “Don’t Believe the Hype: Cleantech Is Creating Jobs Now, And Can Generate Many More”
Cutting Through the Hype, Searching for Cleantech’s Trillion-Dollar Potential
If we look at the history of any emerging industry, such as the Internet or biotech, it’s plain to see that there is always as much hype as promise. What we’re all calling “clean tech” is no different. But the promise of clean tech is compelling. We have viable energy production through solar, wind and … Continue reading “Cutting Through the Hype, Searching for Cleantech’s Trillion-Dollar Potential”