evilMonika: blue sky thinking?

have you heard of the "blue economy"? me neither until last night
it's about creating a job market based on zero environmental impact.

i listened to big ideas on radio national and heard a lecture given by "free thinker", Gunter Pauli as part of Progress on the Blue Economy, new economics and learning for sustainability - Sydney Ideas 3 April 2012
Free thinker Gunter Pauli takes green and sustainable practices a step further and outlines his vision for a Blue economy. It’s an approach that draws heavily on both natural systems and the market place. The starting point, says Pauli, is to use what you’ve got then apply a bit of creative thinking and build on it with smart, appropriate technology. His goal is to achieve multiple benefits, create jobs and add value to underperforming assets. All with zero emissions and zero waste.wow!
it was so inspirational i found it hard to sleep
he talked about energy from bio-waste, using fibre-optics for solar panels (panels can absorb solar energy from both sides, why!? he asks, do we immediately cut this by half??), using plastic instead of aluminium for solar panel frames, and! making plastic from ... pollution!...

some of the ideas were so wonderful, and i thought, surely i can become part of this?
i know crowdfunding exists for creative projects (kickstarter) - surely it would be even better to have crowdfunding - grass roots, small cash funding from lots of people, for enviro projects?
i found two, ecochange and greencrowd, neither had any projects, one looked really dodgy

brooklyn compost map

here's one that is really working in new york,
in our backyard some of their projects look like sesame street!

all people's garden

some articles about crowd funding
treehugger - crowd funding site brings urban chicken farms (ioby)
ecopreneurist ioby - crowdfunding platform for neighbourhood civic leaders and innovators
guardian - crowdfunding and cycling - a natural combination

another one that seems to be doing something (not just talking about it) - people fund it (based in the uk)
blue economy is thinking of listing on a stock exchange, i find this an exclusive solution.
oh here's the whole crazy list on the blue economy website

01: The Power of the Vortex
02: Maggots - Nature's Nurses
03: Coffee - Waste to Protein
04: Electricity without Batteries
05: Glass as Building Material --
earthstone international, foam glass - koljern (energy wise house), splitvision / biotain
06: Fuel from the Forest
07: Smooth as Silk
08: Color without Pigment
09: Metals without Mining
10: Fresh Air Without Filters
11: Wind Energy without ...
12: Wind Energy without turbines
13: Control Bacteria without ...
14: Black to Stay Cool
15: Warm Water for 25 Years
16: Control Fire and Flames...
17: Preserving Food and ...

18: Clean Water without Sewers --
Split Box, SplitVision AB / biotain
19: Dry and Separating Toilets --
aquatron
20: Biodegradable Plastics ... --
natureworks, natureworkspackaging australia
21: The Biorefinery
22: Clean Soap
23: Cleaning without Soap
24: Eliminating Friction
25: Propulsion without Gas
26: Greenhouses without heating or irrigation --
seawater greenhouse ; sundrop farms (port augusta)
27: Food Packaging without ...
28: An Electric Car Model ...
29: Exporting Wind
30: Aquaculture with Chinese Medicine
31: A new Life Cycle Assessment
32: Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility

33: Simple and Cheap Refrigeration -zeer / via inhabitat
34: New Sugars
35: Weed Control without Chemicals
36: Innovations in Paper
37: Insulation Paint
38: Painless Needles
39: Water from Air
40: Electricity from Osmosis
-- statkraft / documentary - future makers
41: Electricity from Sea Currents
42: Electricity from the Tap
43: Self-powered Dechlorination
Hu Bor Yu, Liu Chen Panc, Liang Teh Ming, researchers at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan observed how the flow of (chlorinated) water, contains kinetic energy, which his colleagues successfully exploited to generate electricity. This electric power generated by the pipe flux increases its laminar flow by applying a simple geometric change, the pipe turns smaller. The electricity thus generated is applied to the anode, and the created electrolyzer eliminates in situ the chemical potential of residual chlorine. The process requires no external energy, does not consume any materials, reacts fast in the flow of the water at the instant itself, is durable, cheap to install and requires no maintenance. The performance improves as the flow rate increases and the water temperature rises.
44: Building with Bamboo
45: Charcoal to Preserve Wood
46: Next Life for Cement Kilns
47: Farming Fish without Feed
48: Chicken Eggs with Cheap Feed
49: Steel and Slag
50: Manufacturing without Molds
51: Biogas x Four - Revenue x Six
52: Branding waste
53: Solar without Subsidies
54: Packaging with Fungi
55: Nuclear's Exit with consensus and cash
56: Clean Air without Filters
57: Health as a System
58: Floating Electricity
59: Direct Current as a Standard
60: Batteries Made of Water
61: Jewelry Made of Rice
62: Worms Cutting Costs
63: Shoes from Nettles and Cocoons
64: Water and Electricity from Wind and Air
65: Zero Emissions Hydrogen

66: Eggs for Personal Care
67: Trees in the Desert
68: Turbines Reshaped by Physics
69: Plow without a Plow
70: The Local Smart Grid
The next smart grid combines home-based production and consumption in order to create real sustainability, monitoring all uses as is done today, complementing this with the management of local sourcing of electricity ranging from the compression strength of the building (Case 59), the recovery of energy from the hot water tanks (Case 60), the power generated from the flow of water (Case 42), the thin film solar cells on the windows, the flutters in the wind (Case 12), the biogas from the black water and organic solid waste (Case 51), plus the heat exchange from the black walls (Case 14). None of these sources of power provide energy all day, or supply sufficient power to meet all needs on their own, there is a need for a smart grid to manage the supply of these rather minute sources of electricity
71: Gravity Power Electricity Storage
72: Power from Containers