FAST 50

FASTCOMPANY's new issue features the FAST 50, a selection of those moving and shaking the world with foresight to take advantage of the real opportunities. For example: By spring of 2010, each dawn will see a startling robotic performance in the Mojave Desert, north of Los Angeles. Just before sunrise, thousands of broad, mirrored dishes will wake in unison, their faces to the east. Each will be as wide as a school bus is long; arrayed in perfect lines for miles, they will track the sun all day, feeding power to the hungry city. After sundown, the dishes will pivot back to await the next dawn. "It's going to be like a ballet," says Stirling CEO Bruce Osborn, the man responsible for putting the dishes in the desert. "Way cool." Beyond cool. Revolutionary. For the first time, solar collectors will generate electricity on a scale only coal, gas, or nuclear plants have managed. Not kilowatts or megawatts, but city-sized gulps of power, hundreds of megawatts. "The magnitude of this is mind-boggling," says Osborn. You can read more of the solar power project here. I'd post more about the FAST 50 but due to the way they make their content available on the web, only the first 6 of the 50 are available today. If you subscribe (or buy a copy on the newstand), you get a code that will provide access to the remainder today. Otherwise, you wait until March 14th to get at the full issue on-line. If you don't subscribe, I would recommend considering a subscription. I find it one of the most interesting business magazines. You could also pick up a copy on your local newstand. Enough of the sell pitch. Note, I don't get anything for this (nor do I want to), there is really interesting stuff going on that is highlighted in the FAST 50. fast50 fast company