It’s been a good year for innovation. As we panicked our way through several months of Swine Flu and a global financial meltdown some pretty amazing things were invented right under our collective nose. So to give these inventions and innovations their time in the spotlight I’ve compiled what I believe to be the most inventive and innovative top 10 list you’ll find anywhere on the internet. It goes in reverse!

10. Teleportation: AKA “Live Migration” This new feature from Sun Microsystem’s VirtualBox 3.1.0 allows virtual machine sessions to be moved, while running, from one computer to another. It’s compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris. AND the other type of teleportation (the Star Trek kind) is apparently just around the corner too.

9. The Jaipur Knee: AKA The $20 Knee, this hotly contested invention (claimed to have been developed by two separate American Universities) reduces the cost of a prosthetic limb from thousands of dollars down to $20. In many developing countries limb loss from landmines or disease affects a large number of people. This invention now increases the economic chances of those who have suffered the loss of a limb, which means the economic health of entire regions in developing countries will likely benefit.

8. LED Light Bulbs: Driven by the $10 million L-prize from the American Department of Energy, companies like Seimens and Phillips (the first to enter a finished product) can drastically reduce the amount of energy consumed by light bulbs in North America through their new designs. By installing these new bulbs in place of the antiquated ones enough energy to power over 17 million homes will become available just from the increased efficiency.

7. The Electric Eye: Developed  by MIT this microchip implant will help those who are completely blind to regain their sight.

6. VPL Vaccine Technology: Maryland company Novavax has developed a process to create just in time vaccines that bypass the need for tens of millions of eggs to be used as hosts. The new vaccines also eliminate common side-effects from traditional vaccines.

5. The Solar Shingle: Developed by Dow, this innocuous roofing material looks pretty much just like a roof shingle and  is expected to cost 10% to 15% less than traditional solar panels as well as being quicker to install.

4. Closed Containment Aquaculture: Two recent developments have made the future of human food security a whole lot brighter. In China, a massive closed containment aquaculture project that will provide millions of tonnes of Trout and Salmon is underway using Canadian technology from Agri Marine, while in Australia Blue Fin Tuna has been successfully bred using similar closed containment methods.

3. The Ares Rocket: It seems NASA had been stuck in the past in many ways, particularly when it came to its Rocket fleet. The Ares Rockets represent a turning point for the agency and opens up all sorts of possibilities for manned space flight by increasing the safety, efficiency and range of missions.

2. The AIDS Vaccine: 30 Years after HIV/AIDS appeared a vaccine trial has finally provided a glimmer of hope in the battle against this incredibly complex disease. Reducing the chances of contracting the disease by 30% the vaccine and similar variants are still being developed and tested.

1. I’m leaving this spot blank for YOU to comment on what you think the number one invention of the year is. My list is likely to be different than yours, as many of the other ones online that I’ve seen are. We here at Senses are very interested to hear what you think the coolest invention of the year is. So leave a comment below and we’ll put yours at the number 1 spot if we think it beats our number 1 being held in reserve!

NUMBER 1 INVENTION OF THE YEAR AS CHOSEN BY YOU THE PEOPLE:

Closed Containment Aquaculture (Fish Farms).

In an earlier post I lauded Angela Merkel for seeing greentech (or cleantech) as a means to propel Germany and the EU out of the recent recession and not just a bone to throw out to voters, like some Canadian politicians seem to view it. Turns out that Greentech allround has truly come into itself as a strong investment engine once again, not only in Europe but here in North America and perhaps most of all in China. It’s only taken 30 years- including Tesla’s inventions about 100 years I suppose- but I’m feeling pretty positive about the recent news that Cleantech has become the largest U.S. venture capital sector and that China’s cleantech market was now potentially valued at one trillion annually. But really, we have few other options considering the finite and externality plagued industrial sectors of old are running out of gas- literally. So is it Obama’s generous opening of future American’s wallets that has caused this impressive growth? Some believe it is. I’ve been critical of Obama not putting enough funding into specific large scale greentech projects in the past- but maybe he and his super genius advisors knew that the scent of government funding to VC is like the scent of blood to sharks. In any event the funding for greentech still remains lower than it was in 2008 according to Daily Finance but the news is positive.

Instead of a frenzy of survival investments, the “IPO market has clearly reopened” as  Parker Weil, co-director of the Merrill Lynch and Bank of America’s North America Energy and Power Group stated at a recent conference in San Francisco. Basing this belief on a number of things but perhaps most notably on the explosive success of A123 Systems’ IPO on the market late last month.  As the A123 System website shows, they were recipients of a US Department of Energy Grant to build better batteries. That grant money came out of the Obama stimulus bill. So maybe my past criticisms can be abayed for now.

So what’s going on in Canada and in British Columbia?

Well, in Alberta the new Carbon Technology Fund has been growing thanks to the abundance of greenhouse gas emitters in that province. Now with $120 million to burn, Greentech is the buzzword in Edmonton.

In March Ontario announced a $250 million Greentech fund while shortly after that the Canadian Federal Government launched a $850-million clean energy fund, about $650-million of which goes more or less directly to Alberta in the form of carbon capture and storage initiatives. Something I believe the oil companies should be using their insane profits for instead of receiving tax dollars.

In Vancouver, Premier Campbell and Minister Stockwell Day celebrated the arrival of a hydrogen fuel cell powered bus.  The bus is the first of what will eventually be the world’s largest fleet of fuel cell busses at 20 strong. The 2008 BC energy plan makes lots of noise about new emissions standards and in the process through the ICE (Innovative Clean Energy Fund) has “approved investments of over $47 million in 34 projects” throughout communities in the province (even though the fund is only $25-million) helping to develop clean and renewable energy; the exact details of which I would love to know. The Provincial Liberals seem committed to hydrogen, even though it has proved to be less viable than other forms of energy. Could it be that when they started thinking clean was cool, Ballard’s stock was roaring, and they haven’t really put much thought into it since? In any event, the fact that a new coal mine in the province is being seriously proposed, discredits any green credentials the current BC government is trying to build in my opion.  And the mine has nothing to do with our energy needs either- 40% owned by Japanese and South Korean interests it will be for coking, in the manufacturing of steel products made in those countries. Much like Norwegian Salmon Farming corporations who own 90% of industrially farmed salmon operations in BC, keeping the profits but leaving the province with 100% of the pollution and problems, the BC government is keen to open the door to our environment to foreign interests once again. If the BC liberals really want to get greentech cred they’d embrace closed containment technology for salmon farms, like China has for trout, and put a stop to the Raven Site mine proposal.  Both activities will otherwise take their environmental tolls in the same area of our Province, the Georgia Strait. And to the overall health of our environment globally.

So to sum it up, BC is being outdone by both China and Alberta when it comes to investing in clean, green technologies. How does that make you feel? You Alberta and China slagging, granola chewing, MacBook using, lululemon wearing, mountain biking, grouse grinding British Columbian?

$25 million to greentech in our province? And 100 million to a new coal mine? When Alberta is dwarfing BC in funding for cleantech, and China is embracing the clean technologies produced and rejected here, you have to shake your head and wonder how hypocritical it makes us look? Or rather how hypocritical the current provincial government make us look? Maybe, if and when, Gregor Robertson is Premier, he’ll take the same kind of leadership he’s shown in Vancouver with the Vancouver Greenest City initiative and we can really have something to show for in the province. Until then, we’re chasing the cleantech train instead of riding it.