Water, the New Oil
By JETRO Los Angeles, Stefan Vos
Climate change and demographic shifts are beginning to strain the world's supplies of fresh water in many regions, according to the U.N.'s second World Water Development Report, and if the issue is not addressed it will be a driver of humanitarian crisis in the 21st century. Recognizing this problem, there has been an groundswell in water technology innovation across the globe. Southern California, no stranger to water shortages due to many years of an extended drought, is a major center for this innovation. The March 8th Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum focused on water innovation by bringing together representatives from water companies, VC and one of the L.A. area's biggest water technology customers, the Metropolitan Water District, to discuss the future of this industry and new opportunities. Over 80 entrepreneurs, VCs, academics and other people concerned with water issues attended the seminar.
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今回のニュースレターは、2007年12月10日、11日にロサンゼルスで行われたGreenXChange Conference の話題から始めたい。科学者や環境問題研究家から実業家まで、幅広い分野の専門家が集まり、クリーン・エネルギーについての討論が行われた。
過去5年間でFriendster, MySpace, Facebook、LinkedInといったソーシャル・ネットワーキング・サービス（SNS）は著しい成長を遂げてきた。そして、南カリフォルニアは、SNS世界最大手のMｙSpaceの発祥地でもあり、多くのキープレーヤーが存在する。