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Ten Green Business Ventures for Northwest Arkansas

Image "Just Full of Ideas" by cayusa
I've been reading Seth Godin, and he says the value of a good business is in the execution, not so much in the idea itself. He says leaders prefer results over credit, and they tend to give their best ideas to the public in hope of a decentralized effort.
So, I have a goal. I want to see the green economy take over everywhere, but especially in Northwest Arkansas and Fayetteville. I'd prefer seeing results to hoarding these ideas to myself, so I'm going to make an attempt at walking the walk.
Here are ten ideas for green business. I've limited myself to for-profit models, but many of these could benefit from nonprofit status. And, I don't list any consulting or education businesses, of which there are a plethora.

  1. Nursery providing the best indoor plants for cleaning the air, based on NASA research
  2. An urban farm with year-round greens and staples. Partner with large landholders, such as the Veterans Hospital in Fayetteville, and sell food locally. Commit to organic and anti-erosion principles
  3. A workforce training business focused on training people to install solar panels (there are only three licensed installers in Arkansas, at the time of this writing)
  4. A car dealership selling only hybrid, electric, compact, and (bio-)diesel vehicles
  5. A shop that electrifies bicycles and other human-powered-machines (news from Farmer's Market 04-10-2009: this one is coming very soon! They are already demoing bikes.)
  6. A website for coordinating microlending (and reverse-microlending) for local clean tech development
  7. A private bus company that operates park-and-rides in Benton and Washington County (you get a gold star for using cheaper natural gas buses)
  8. An indoor mushroom factory (controlled environment = predictable output), cultivating varieties for gourmet and medicinal use, plus site restoration, erosion, and effluent control.
  9. A shop that rents small tools for home repair and landscaping/gardening, with a walkability model (locations in mulitple neighborhoods, operating out of coordinated garages)
  10. ... I couldn't think of a tenth one. I know there are many more, but my brain is too tired to come up with another right now.

Maybe you can come up with a tenth idea. Add it in the comments.
Update: After writing this post, I was about to publish it when I found this book: 75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make A Difference. I haven't read it, but it comes with high marks from reviewers.