The quest for alternative energy is the gold rush of our era. And as with any gold rush, the companies that sell miners their picks and shovels have a good chance of success. FirstLook is that kind of company. Instead of digging tools, it sells detailed reports to new-energy entrepreneurs. Those reports show just how much wind or sunshine an area is likely to receive, based on years’ worth of meteorological data.

The company advertises its reports via a free interactive map, which uses Google Maps. Preliminary information from the map helps entrepreneurs determine whether a windmill or solar-panel installation at a chosen location would make good financial sense. Registered users simply log in and click a location on the interactive map. Immediately, they receive a brief run-down on the area’s potential. Wind reports, for example, show the area’s average wind speed at different heights, which correspond to the possible heights of a windmill tower. Solar maps give the average daily illumination the same spot receives at differing angles. That information on sunlight angles is critical, unless the project employs solar panels that track the sun’s movement across the sky.

Websites run by the Department of Energy and other government and environmental organizations already provide similar information, though maybe with a less easy-to-use interface. But energy entrepreneurs will need something far more detailed if they hope to convince bankers or investors to fund their projects. A simple mouse click takes them to FirstLook’s reports page, where they can buy a detailed report USD 1,000 and up.

For now FirstLook’s data appears limited to US locations. But the company has plans to expand to other nations, a move it hopes to help finance with country-based sponsorships. Meanwhile, worldwide demand for wind and solar energy is growing, aptly insuring FirstLook’s potential for growth. At the same time, the alternative energy gold rush will no doubt present other opportunities for pick-and-shovel start-ups.

Website: www.3tiergroup.com
Contact: firstlook@3tiergroup.com

Spotted by: Ryan Flynn

American Apparel has become a veritable epitome of what our sister site trendwatching.com calls the (still) made here trend—consumers' growing preference for things produced locally, ethically, authentically. Along similar lines, there's Blank, a Canadian company that sells blank T-shirts and clothing made entirely in Quebec. Unbranded and sweatshop-free, just like American Apparel.

Founded in 2005, Blank sells a range of clothing items and accessories for men, women and children with the goal of creating Quebec jobs and promoting local talent. Everything from fabric manufacture to dyeing, cutting and sewing is performed in Quebec, and through Blank's wholesale services retailers can even customize items with the colours, fabrics and formats of their choice. The company operates two Montreal stores, both of which also serve as production sites--large windows at the back allow customers to see the clothes being made.

Whereas almost 18,000 garment jobs were lost between 2003 and 2004 in Quebec, according to the province's Institut de la Statistique, Blank's sales doubled in 2006, allowing it to open its second store (source: the McGill Daily). Which just goes to show that the opportunities still abound for locally made goods. It's not just still made here—it's also still profitable!

Website: www.portezblank.com
Contact: info@wearblank.com

Spotted by: Alexandre Renaud

Over the past few years, landlocked cities across Europe have been setting up temporary beaches to offer their residents a summer's day on the sand. From Paris to Budapest, these urban beaches have been quite a hit with the locals.

Now, a new project by Rotterdam-based HUNK-design in cooperation with IDEddy is offering cities an alternative to moving large amounts of sand. The Flying Grass Carpet, which will debut in Amsterdam on May 10th, is a grass carpet of adjustable size, measuring at most 58 by 32 meters (or 190 by 105 feet). It's a movable meadow made of various colours and types of artificial and natural grasses, from golf green to tennis red, arranged to resemble an Oriental rug. The designers' aim is to create a temporary patch of green in Europe's concrete jungles, giving city dwellers a place to hang out, play Frisbee or have a picnic.

After its week-long residency in Amsterdam, the pop-up pasture will land in Aachen, Germany before moving to Rotterdam, and its owners are happy to schedule in other cities, too. This one should inspire urban planners and event organizers worldwide, as well as artful entrepreneurs who can no doubt come up with variations on this theme. And, although we're not in favour of blanketing the world with ads, we can't help but notice that a grass carpet would be a great canvas for advertisers ;-)

Website: www.flyinggrasscarpet.org
Email: info@flyinggrasscarpet.org

Back in 2006 we wrote about Dutch Postbank's campaign to facilitate the efforts of kidpreneurs, and now a Florida-based company is taking the notion a step further by offering mini-franchises for kids.

Founded last year, Florida-based FranChild enables kids ages 5 to 15 to go way beyond lemonade stands and operate a "grownup-style" business instead. Parents and kids begin by picking a product to sell: beeswax candles, organic soap, jewellery or apparel. The initial startup cost is just USD 25, which gets the child a FranChild Company Certificate to acknowledge his or her business launch; business cards ready to print from FranChild's ready-made templates; how-to instructions for marketing and selling products; access to the My First Franchise Resource Center, a USD 75,000 marketing system for creating customized packaging products; discount pricing on inventory and supplies; and access to newsletters, updates and a members-only forum. For an extra USD 2 per month, kids can also get their own business webpage. Kids then order their inventory and create their business cards and packaging, and they're ready to start selling. In addition to extra spending money (which can be considerable, according to the testimonials), FranChild gives kids valuable business and life lessons, and it provides an educational context in which parents and kids can spend time together.

FranChild's founders stress that the time commitment is small for both kids and parents, though overscheduled families may still want to think twice before stretching those schedules even further. Nor should earnings be the primary motivation, FranChild warns. Far be it from us to promote child labour; on the other hand, could be a fun way to while away the time during those long summer months! FranChild operates only in the US—one to bring to a country near you?

Website: www.franchild.com
Contact: info@franchild.com

Spotted by: Bill McMahon

It seems a fair statement to say that the art of storytelling has not yet caught up with the internet's capabilities, at least not in the mainstream. A new project from UK-based Penguin Books' digital fiction group, however, is using the power of the internet to tell stories in new and surprising ways.

In mid-March Penguin—along with alternative reality gaming firm Six to Start—launched the We Tell Stories initiative through which consumers can enjoy six digital novels by six different authors over the course of six weeks for free. The first story, which launched March 18, was "The 21 Steps" by renowned thriller author Charles Cumming. "He was the wrong man, in the wrong place, at the wrong time," the story begins, and readers follow the protagonist's adventures step by step across the world using Google Maps, with text presented in the technology's information bubbles at each point along the way.

The second story, "Slice" by Toby Litt, chronicles a teen's fears about the old house she and her family just moved into. Told over the course of four days, the story invites readers to follow Slice's story on her own blog as well as that of her parents. Those who want can even email the characters and follow them through text messages on Twitter.

Week 3's story was Kevin Brooks' "Fairy Tales," an interactive story in which readers name the characters, choose their qualities and make other decisions that shape the story's direction. This week it's "Your Place or Mine," the story of a relationship told by the bestselling author duo who work under the name Nicci French. Each evening this week beginning at 6:30 pm London time, readers can witness the authors writing an episode of the story live and in real time. Still to come are two more weekly stories along with a mysterious seventh one that will reportedly emerge through clues online and in the real world.

As Penguin notes on its site, "these stories could not have been written 200, 20 or even 2 years ago." It's a whole new world for storytellers—one to watch, whether you're in media or not!

Website: www.wetellstories.co.uk
Contact: jeremy.ettinghausen@uk.penguingroup.com

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen