Fresh Green Minute

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In this week’s Fresh Dialogues, Mark Platshon, an expert in battery technology with venture capitalists, Vantage Point , provides some Battery Basics. What is a battery? “Throw a dart at (two elements on) the periodic table and you can make a battery out of it…a potato and a penny […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues You’ve no doubt heard about the November ballot measure (Proposition 23) which aims to to scupper California’s landmark climate change legislation, AB 32. In this Fresh Dialogues interview, Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, didn’t pull any punches in his response to those behind the plan. “We’re […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues June 24 marked the 13th annual SDForum Visionary Awards, a celebration of the innovators and chutzpah that make Silicon Valley unique. Although the four visionaries come from diverse backgrounds, Silicon Valley was the common theme for the evening. The visionaries gave a revealing glimpse into the Silicon Valley […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On the eve of Tesla’s IPO, Richard Lowenthal of Coulomb Technologies discusses the vital role of charging stations in creating a thriving ecosystem for electric vehicles. Lowenthal, a Silicon Valley based maker of charging stations, argues that a comprehensive network of charging stations is a vital prerequisite for the […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Last night, President Obama addressed the nation for the first time from the Oval office. His subject: the BP oil spill disaster. Although some say he was “vapid”, Obama seized the opportunity to call for a clean energy future and end our addiction to fossil fuels. He underlined China’s […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, we feature an interview from the archives with Guy Kawasaki, Apple evangelist and venture capitalist at Garage Technology Ventures He shares his candid thoughts on why he thinks the venture capital model is broken and delivers a bullish pitch for a $500 Million VC Fund. On the VC […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Today, President Obama announced his nominee for Supreme Court to replace Justice Stevens. No surprise to Fresh Dialogues readers: it’s Elena Kagan. So what might she mean for the environment and green tech? On April 1st, just days before Justice Stevens announced his retirement, I sat down […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Twitter officianado, Adam Jackson at SDForum’s Teens Plugged in Conference last year. Since then, he’s founded TweetForMyBiz, a social media consultancy, based in San Francisco. Moderator at this year’s conference, Mike Cassidy wrote an excellent column in the San Jose Mercury News about how teens embrace fearlessness in […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On the Eve of Earth Day, it’s telling to look at the green motivations of one of Silicon Valley’s leaders in solar technology: CEO of Akeena Solar, Barry Cinnamon. He’s been a solar advocate since the 1970’s when he studied the science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Last week, President Obama announced a surprise decision to allow oil and gas drilling off the East Coast of the United States. The world was at once outraged and confused. What many analysts overlooked is that Obama also said in his speech, “For the sake of the planet and […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues There are countless Silicon Valley wannabes all over the world, from Silicon Wadi in Israel to Silicon Glen in Scotland, but none rival Silicon Valley’s track record. Why is Silicon Valley the premier center of innovation? What is the secret of Silicon Valley’s success? I joined Morton Grosser, a Silicon […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I sat down with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, just before he delivered a lecture to an expectant Foothill College Celebrity Forum audience at the Flint Center in Silicon Valley. We discussed his bestselling book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded and why he thinks the U.S. government MUST jump-start the green economy. According to […]

By Alison van Diggelen, Host of Fresh Dialogues Rolf Papsdorf, President of the Alternative Energy Development Corporation was a recipient of the 2009 Tech Awards in Silicon Valley, for bringing renewable energy (zinc fuel cells) and empowerment to a small community in South Africa. Check out this exclusive interview with Mr. Papsdorf who discusses how to […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues The Obama administration ought to have sent an envoy to the FountainBlue State of Clean Green Conference on January 29, 2010. A panel of Silicon Valley clean tech experts had much to share in response to Moderator Greentech Media’s Eric Wesoff’s question…if you had Department of Energy Secretary, […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Check out the new Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel more exclusive interviews.   Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer of Titanic fame sat down with me in Silicon Valley to discuss his expeditions, global warming, and alternative energy. This respected scientist spoke candidly about global warming -“I’ll be honest, it’s […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Elise Zoli, a partner with Goodwin Procter, is a specialist in energy and clean tech law; and teaches at MIT. I caught up with her at a Fountain Blue Green Transport Event where we discussed two hot areas in clean tech: energy storage and nuclear power. Elise […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues The catchy title “Cows to Kilowatts” certainly won the attention of the crowds at the 2009 Tech Awards Gala in Silicon Valley, but the project won accolades for more than mere words. Dr. Joseph Adelegan, an Ashoka Fellow is a charismatic engineer who has found an effective way to harness […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues As delegates gather in Copenhagen this week to thrash out a global treaty on climate change, the shrill from skeptics intensifies. It’s useful to listen to wisdom from Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman. In a recent interview, I asked Paul the question on many lips: Will […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Here’s the transcript. SEE VIDEO of Part One (Part Two coming soon) In advance of Obama’s trip to China this week, Nobel Prize winner, Paul Krugman gave a short, sharp economics lesson on climate change and China during our exclusive interview in Silicon Valley, November 12. What does […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On Thursday November 12, I had an exclusive interview with Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman. Just hours after President Obama announced the Job Summit, I sought out Krugman’s wisdom and he gave some radical advice to the President. Emphasising that “the Job Summit can’t be an empty exercise,” […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I sat down with Pulitzer prize winning Tom Friedman to discuss his book and the upcoming Climate Summit in Copenhagen. In this part of the interview, we discuss what we can learn from Denmark – dubbed the greenest country in the world; the role of Silicon Valley in energy technology innovation; and where he thinks […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Bloom Energy has been in stealth mode since 2003 and little has been released about the fuel cell company’s technology and timeline. KR Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy agreed to sit down with me to discuss the company’s technology and team. We explore the importance of the Bloom […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, we feature an interview with Apple evangelist and venture capitalist at Garage Technology Ventures, Guy Kawasaki. He shares his candid thoughts on the venture capital industry; the fragile economy and why he sees light at the end of the tunnel. On the stock market and VC investing “If you […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, at the Foothill College Celebrity Forum lecture series last month, where he delivered a spirited argument for why the United States must embrace a green economy. In this second part of our interview, we explore his part in driving the green agenda. This […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with David Chen, an executive director at Morgan Stanley, while attending the AlwaysOn Going Green Conference 2009 in Sausalito. Chen, a specialist in the green tech investment sector, discussed the morale of investors; and why he’s expecting a bumpy ride ahead. He also explains the key […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues SEE THE VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH KR SRIDHAR HERE – A FRESH DIALOGUES EXCLUSIVE Part One: Fuel Cell Technology and Efficiency Also Part Two Bloom Energy: Affordability is Essential Video Part Three Bloom Energy: Mission to Change the World Video Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar is a man with a mission to […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Vinod Khosla, the green investment guru, was asked to name the company with the greatest chance of becoming the next Green Microsoft while onstage at the GoingGreen Conference in Sausalito. He declined to name his “favorite child” but did praise Calera, the green cement maker he’s backing; and spoke about the […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Tony Perkins, founder of AlwaysOn and Red Herring Magazine, just before he opened the third annual GoingGreen Conference in Sausalito, California. He agreed to talk for five minutes but well, we got talking…about what’s hot in the green sector, the downside of going green, […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Last week, I sat down with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, just before he delivered a lecture to an expectant Foothill College Celebrity Forum audience at the Flint Center in Silicon Valley. We discussed his bestselling book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded and why he thinks it’s imperative that the U.S. […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Earlier this year, I met with Linda Holroyd, CEO of FountainBlue, a Silicon Valley based forum that brings together top experts and entrepreneurs in green tech. We discussed why her company is thriving because of the down economy; and why she has faith in the resiliency of green […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In this interview with Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, Maureen Dowd, we discuss her unique take on the Obamas; what Barack’s pop culture preferences reveal about him; and how Michelle is embracing the First Lady role in a refreshing way. Maureen explains her saucy writing style, who inspires […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Apple evangelist and venture capitalist, Guy Kawasaki discusses the aesthetics of hybrid cars, Tesla Motors, and nuclear power. He also delivers a very memorable lesson about keeping on the good side of the media in this Fresh Dialogues interview. While discussing the relative merits of his Audi […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Lena Wilson has been described as one of the most powerful women in Scotland. She’s CEO of both Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International, two publicly funded organizations focused on stimulating sustainable growth in Scotland. The country has an ambitious target to provide 50% of its energy from renewable […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Kevin Surace is serious about tackling global warming and argues that producing energy saving building materials can go a long way to cutting down CO2 emissions and reducing energy consumption in the United States. He’s CEO of Serious Materials, a Sunnyvale based maker of eco drywall, windows […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Our Green Mayor was in fine form at SD Forum’s Visionary Awards on June 25th. He made a convincing pitch about why innovators and visionaries should locate in San Jose. In this photo, he’s pointing out his Economic Development team to the high profile crowd gathered in Atherton; but […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Paul O’Brien, renewable energy expert at Scottish Development International discusses details of the Saltire Prize, a Ten Million Pound Prize for the best marine energy technology. “It’s not so much about the money, it’s about the kudos of winning the prize; the recognition from the global marine energy […]

by Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Laurie Yoler was an early enthusiast and angel investor for Tesla Motors, the pioneering electric car maker. She talked to me about her rationale for backing green technology and Tesla. Laurie doesn’t believe we should be green at any cost. Instead she focuses on the great opportunity to find innovative businesses and […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, talked to me about her green inspiration – fellow columnist and green energy advocate, Tom Friedman. We had an animated discussion about his book (Hot, Flat and Crowded), his solar house and why she calls him her “office husband.” […]

By Alison van Diggelen In the fourth in our series, Fresh Green Minute, we feature Charlie Rose – the acclaimed interviewer and host of the nightly PBS program, Charlie Rose. We discussed Tom Friedman’s book, Hot Flat and Crowded and why Charlie thinks that the United States can reassert its leadership in the world by engaging […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In the third in our series of Fresh Green Minute, Apple evangelist and Alltop cofounder, Guy Kawasaki gives some insights into how to become a Green Revolutionary. He’s author of the book, Rules for Revolutionaries and I asked him how these rules apply to those in the green […]

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues New on Fresh Dialogues: Fresh Green Minute– one minute bytes of green inspiration First up: Legendary business leader of General Electric, Jack Welch Interview Transcript Alison van Diggelen: “Why is going green so important for business?” Jack Welch: “From a business standpoint, you’ve got a consumer now […]