If you haven’t heard the news, as reported by Venture Capital Journal, the Israeli venture-capital sector has hit drought-like conditions with local funds raising a grand total of $0 in 2010.  Zeev Holtzman, founder of Giza Venture Capital, recently sounded the alarm in a public letter to Benjamin Netanyahu declaring, “Israel’s venture capital and startup industry is heading for collapse… the industry, which is the economy’s growth engine, is liable to be irreversibly damaged.”

As a typical, neurotic American Jewish young man and strong supporter of Israel, these headlines gave me as much cause for concern as the recent, heightened debate over political borders.   Trying to allay these fears, Silicon Alley Insider picking up on this story wrote:

“One reason is that Israeli startups have often been specialized in sectors like security, semiconductors and networking equipment, which can be capital-intensive and that many feel are “played out” for startups… there’s a bright light however: Israel seems to start to “get” the consumer internet.  Facebook just bought a local startup for $70 million.”

The last line struck me as both a comical and sad testament to the mindset of today’s startup landscape.  The Israeli startup …

The most promising renewable energy sources are not actually energy sources. Instead, I believe ‘negawatts’ or opportunities to save energy by making our buildings, factories, and homes more efficient are the best path toward reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. While attractive energy efficiency opportunities are plentiful, I’m most inspired by the ways we can make ‘dumb buildings’ smarter and more efficient.

Buildings in the US represent 40 percent of energy consumption and 70 percent of electricity use. Unfortunately, most of these buildings are not optimized for efficiency. Opportunities to improve their energy consumption are abundant and well-understood. Implementing proven ‘no brainer’ efficiency technologies across all five million US commercial buildings would cut energy consumption by 30 to 50 percent, resulting in $30 to $50 billion in annual savings. Admittedly, the task of effectively promoting and accelerating adoption of such technologies is not easy.

Fortunately, a plethora of innovative companies recognize the magnitude of this opportunity, and are seizing it. For example, a number of startups (e.g., Adura, Encilium) are developing intelligent lighting control systems that ensure lights are only in use when needed. In the heating market, companies (e.g., Scientific Conservation, Building IQ) are competing to create smarter systems …

The EPA just released new fuel economy window stickers for 2013 model vehicles this week.  For the first time, these stickers would provide information about the vehicle’s greenhouse gas emissions, as well as estimated annual fuel costs.  It’s clear that the aim of the EPA and Department of Transportation is to provide more information to help consumers make purchasing decisions, including the full cost of ownership.  More information is a good thing.  Today, most used car buyers request the vehicle history report to uncover hidden costs or liabilities in the vehicle.  It’s about time new cars get the same type of treatment.…