On Our Way to a Cleaner Nation

I have always been concerned about the future of our children, but have become even more so since I, myself, became a grandmother a year ago. I have a precious grandson, Connor, who is a healthy and energetic “little man” – my dream is for him to remain healthy and energetic. Fortunately, I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’m excited about the direction in which this great Nation is headed; we’re headed for a much cleaner nation. Wouldn’t our forefathers be proud? I am. And I’m excited about this particular issue – we consider it our “Clean Industries” issue.

In our Feature article on ‘Green Buildings,’ Suzanne Davis discusses those factors that should be considered when contemplating a “green” development. And Don Schjeldahl puts renewable energy in perspective including what technologies are emerging and where to look for opportunities in our ‘Alternative Energy’ Feature. When expanding business opportunities and creating economic growth, one must consider the critical solutions provided by research and development – check out John Rhodes’ Feature article on this subject.

CiCi Awards – Our 4^th Anniversary!

Another year has come and gone and we are both proud and excited to present our 4^th anniversary edition of the Corporate Investment & Community Impact (CiCi) Awards…and from a personal standpoint, not a moment too soon. I’m exhausted – what a grueling task! After receiving over 1,000 submissions from across the country, we had the difficult mission of narrowing the list down to only 30 winners – 15 for Corporate Investment and 15 for Community Impact.

Moving Forward in the New Year!

Well I never thought I’d see the day that the price of gas would drop so much…and so quickly. It wasn’t long ago I paid $4.09 for a gallon of gas; last night I filled my tank for $1.59 per gallon. Amazing! Looks like the New Year is going to be great – I just hope we don’t become complacent when it comes to finding alternative fuel sources.

But the future does look bright. In this issue one of our Feature articles is on Alternative Fuels – specifically Biodiesel. Jim Zuber and Preston Boone tell how the future for biodiesel is ‘bright green’ in “Cultivating the Marketplace for Biodiesel in Your State.”

In another Feature article, Jim Renzas discusses the four categories of life sciences and how each of these industries has different objectives and locational challenges in “Site Selection for Life Sciences Companies.” And check out “Trends in Food Processing and the Impact on Corporate Site Selection” – Suzanne Davis explains that as companies evaluate growth and expansion plans, the site selection process is complicated by many factors.

Don’t miss Kevin Mayer’s Special Report on Nanotechnology Initiatives. I love how he begins his article, “Nanotechnology doesn’t make the industries you promote. Nanotechnology makes the industry you promote more competitive.”