Venture capitalists will put a lot less money into greentech startups next year, predicts Rob Day, but that could be a good thing. Day, a partner at @Ventures (and a blogger for Greentech Media) believes there's a readjustment in financing coming in 2009. Until now, too many VCs have been putting large amounts of money into companies trying to horn into already crowded markets like solar. And, as the dollars have climbed, VCs have assured themselves that it would work because: 1.) the world needs lots of energy; 2.) the established energy companies seemed resistant to adapt to the new opportunities; and 3.) we're from Silicon Valley and know better. The result is going to be a...

Quincy Jones, Indian megaindustrialist R.N. Tata and Kevin McGovern (the founder of SoBe beverages) and others have formed an organization called The Water Initiative to bring point-of-drinking water purification devices to emerging nations. Various parts of the world -- Australia, Southern California, Beijing -- are facing severe water shortages, but it's particularly acute in rural India, Africa and Latin America. Not only do farmers not have enough water for their crops, many are sick from drinking infected water. Approximately half of the hospital beds in the world are filled with people inflicted with water-borne diseases. The Water Initiative will seek to develop and then...