Safe and effective, geothermal energy has been used by mankind for over 10,000 years. Evidence shows that North American Paleo-Indians regularly used geothermal hot springs for warmth, cleansing and minerals. In the first century AD, Romans used geothermal energy to heat public baths and floors, and the world’s oldest geothermal district heating system has been operating since the 14th century in France. America’s first district heating system was powered directly by geothermal energy in 1892 in Boise, Idaho.

Geothermal heat energy is naturally produced by the Earth, originating from the natural radioactive decay of certain materials within the Earth’s crust. Temperature differences between the core of the planet and its surface drive a continuous conduction of thermal energy from the core to the surface.

After centuries of use for bathing and space heating, geothermal energy is now recognized for electricity production. Worldwide, 12,000 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power are currently online with 2,000 MW of installed capacity in the western United States. There’s also an additional 28 gigawatts of geothermal heating installed for space heating and multiple other applications around the world.

Geothermal power is cost-effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, but it has historically been limited to areas in the western U.S., where natural caldera formations occur. Population growth and technological advancements make geothermal energy production ever more appealing.

Calpine Corp (NYSE: CPN), Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA) and U.S. Geothermal (NYSE MKT: HTM) are recognized players in geothermal energy production. Of these, U.S. Geothermal is the largest pure play geothermal independent power producer. The company currently produces 45 MW from three existing assets in Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho. U.S. Geothermal also has four advanced development properties in California, Guatemala, and Nevada, with 90 MW capacity in their pipeline, plus four more early-stage properties in development.

Geothermal provides base load power 24/7 without interruption, is clean and renewable without significant output deterioration, and is not subject to the vagaries of commodity fuel prices. Publically-traded geothermal energy companies, such as U.S. Geothermal, now provide the opportunity to profit from our planet’s creation.

For more information, visit www.USGeothermal.com

On Thursday, February 23, 2017, eXp World Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: EXPI), a publicly-traded holding company whose primary operational business is eXp Realty LLC, the “Agent-Owned Cloud Brokerage®”, presented a virtual webinar covering the company’s operations, business model, and progress.

Glenn Sanford, company chairman and CEO, made the presentation, beginning with a summary of his background and the history of the company:

Glenn Sanford founded eXp Realty in 2009, coming from a background of technology, marketing, and sales. He founded a number of technology startups in the 1990s, going on to become successful in real estate, until the industry crisis began unfolding around 2006, making the traditional brick-and-mortar based real estate brokerage model less and less sustainable. It became clear that a radically different approach to the real estate brokerage business, based upon newly evolving technologies, was not only possible but necessary.

eXp Realty was founded on the idea that a national brokerage could operate much more cost effectively and efficiently without depending upon cash-draining physical facilities, over and above the minimum required by state laws. Through the application of advanced technologies, all types of agent related communication and training could actually be enhanced, without requiring time-consuming travel to central offices. A virtual campus could bring together a few, or a few hundred, agents, providing superior information flow and relationships, while giving agents more time and tools to succeed, and all at a dramatically reduced cost. It was this revolutionary approach that was designed-in to eXp Realty from the beginning, a unique foundational business model that is not easy to start, and almost impossible to transition to from a traditional model, but which eXp Realty has now successfully grown with dramatic results.

The approach was an innovation that has resulted in dramatic cost savings and operational efficiencies, allowing a variety of creative and unmatched benefits and attracting new agents from across the county. The company, which started out with only 24 agents, has already grown to over 2,700 agents, and it continues to expand. The operation now covers 42 states, with growth in revenue paralleling the growth in agents.

The benefits of this new way of doing business are key:

• It is easy to scale, making rapid expansion both possible and manageable
• Operating costs are minimized, even as size increases
• Cost savings feed attractive financial and other benefits for agents, encouraging growth

Agent benefits include:

• More attractive financial splits, where a greater percentage of each commission goes to the agent
• Revenue sharing programs, giving agents money that would normally be needed to support the brokerage
• Superior and timely communication, with agents able to get more training to succeed and build the company, without having to travel to a physical office
• Equity ownership programs, whereby agents continually grow their stake in the company by getting shares that are earned for future payout, encouraging lower turnover

The company’s equity sharing programs, now available through eXp World Holdings as a publicly-traded corporation, are a huge draw for the company, and have significantly encouraged growth in the number of agents. These programs provide a variety of ways for agents to get actual shares of the company, in addition to superior commissions, effectively providing a form of retirement program in which it is easy to participate. The shares can be earned in a number of ways, and are not just a reward for exceptional performance, but are also held for payout at a set future date to encourage agents to stay with the company, significantly lowering agent turnover.

Such equity sharing works hand-in-hand with the company’s position as a truly national brokerage, rather than a traditional franchise-based operation. Instead of local brokerages and agents feeling compelled to compete with one another, there is only one brokerage, in which agents own a growing stake. As a result, they are encouraged to bring in other agents and to do whatever they can to make the business grow. The effect has been rapid expansion, which the technology is easily able to handle without the loss of community and company unity.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.eXpWorldHoldings.com

Let us hear your thoughts: eXp World Holdings, Inc. Message Board

Since the recession in the mid-2000’s, the U.S. as a whole has made significant steps toward lowering its carbon emissions. In California, the California Energy Commission is the primary energy policy and planning agency, committed to helping individuals and organizations reduce their energy costs and environmental impact while maintaining a safe, reliable, and long-lasting supply of energy.

The standards outlined by California’s Energy Commission in Title 24 are updated every three years, aiming to improve upon the standards set in 2013, while continuing to reduce energy consumption and contribute toward reducing carbon dioxide emissions across the world. Two specific aspects of reducing carbon footprint are outlined in the standards, these include controlling space temperature and controlling lighting and plug loads.

Although the standards do not give clear recommendations on how to achieve the above, Telkonet, Inc. (OTCQB: TKOI), a company committed to sustainable product innovation and technological expertise, believes it has the answer. The company feels that implementing a single product able to work as an energy management system, with intelligent sensors and controllers that operate through a cloud-based command center, is far more efficient than using diverse products from numerous manufacturers.

With this in mind, Telkonet has developed EcoSmart, a revolutionary intelligent automation platform that works with a full suite of connected IoT (Internet Of Things) products and gives customers in-depth energy usage information, control, and analytics. The platform, made up of wireless devices, offers real-time reporting whereby it can track progress toward an individual’s or company’s energy efficiency goals.

Telkonet believes EcoSmart could be the solution to Title 24 compliance, as it is an all-in-one platform that allows clients to achieve a perfect balance between energy efficiency and occupant comfort. The EcoSmart system decreases energy usage in unoccupied spaces so that it doesn’t affect tenants living or working in the space. The solution is perfect for unpredictable spaces, such as hotels, university residences, offices, and others.

For more information, visit www.Telkonet.com

Although the volume of waste generated across the U.S. and worldwide grows each year, there are still insufficient waste management solutions, such as landfills or comprehensive recycling, to counter the negative effects this amount of waste can have on the environment. According to World Bank statistics (http://dtn.fm/sWI0j), there are currently over 1.3 billion tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated on a global scale, and this number is expected to almost double in the next decade, reaching 2.2 billion tons by 2025. This increase represents a significant hike in per capita generation rates, from 2.6 to 3.13 kilograms per person per day by 2025.

The figure varies from one region to another, depending directly on affluence, local income, industrialization, state of economy and other factors. The United States, for instance, is responsible for approximately 258 million tons of MSW, according to 2014 figures released by the Environmental Protection Agency. According to Duke University statistics (http://dtn.fm/P84nA), the average person in the U.S. generates more than 4.3 pounds of waste per day. Of this, approximately 55 percent – or roughly 136 million tons in 2014 – is landfilled. The rest is either recycled (89 million tons were recycled and composted in 2014, or approximately 34.6 percent) or combusted with energy recovery (about 33 million tons).

Nowadays in the U.S. there are considerably fewer landfills than a couple of decades ago, but the ones still active need to be fully in line with EPA imposed standards to limit the volume of methane emissions as much as possible. Responsible landfill operators such as Florida-based National Waste Management Holdings, Inc. (OTC: NWMH) are already exploring various ways to limit the impact of landfill operations on the environment by including efficient on-site sorting lines and recycling facilities to ensure that only the appropriate kind of waste is landfilled and that anything that can be recycled and recovered – mostly construction & demolition debris – will be.

Located in Hernando, Florida, and also servicing Citrus and Marion counties, National Waste Management Holdings’ 54-acre landfill disposes of about 240,000 cubic yards of C&D debris per year. Operating with the local Department of Environmental Protection’s permit, the landfill is a C&D waste disposal leader on Florida’s west coast, reflecting the company’s strong commitment to working for a cleaner environment. For this purpose, National Waste Management Holdings has changed its business model to make recycling the focus of all its services and also has plans to set up a portable sorting line at the landfill this year in an effort to increase recycling rates.

The landfill operates in strict compliance with Department of Environmental Protection standards and does not accept any kind of material that fails to respect these standards. Approved C&D waste that is received and considered for recycling includes asphalt; brick; lumber and wood; drywall and plaster; dirt, sand and uncontaminated soil; pallets; roofing materials; metal materials; glass; electrical wiring and components; non-asbestos insulation; and more. Any hazardous waste is prohibited, along with residential garbage and putrescible waste; mercury-based devices; gas tanks; auto parts; oil containers; biomedical waste; asbestos; contaminated soil; industrial waste; and more.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.nationalwastemgmt.com

Let us hear your thoughts: National Waste Management Holdings, Inc. Message Board

There’s a growing obesity epidemic in the United States. Currently, almost 80 million people in the U.S. are obese, with two out of every three Americans considered to be either obese or overweight.

The obesity rate in 1990 was 12 percent, which nearly doubled to 23 percent in 2005. It increased to 35 percent by 2010 and now exceeds 38 percent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has projected the U.S. obesity rate to exceed 42 percent by 2030.

This rampant increase persists while obesity remains one of the most significant drivers of preventable chronic diseases and health care costs in the United States. Estimates for obesity-related health care costs range from $147 billion to well over $200 billion annually.

This epidemic presents enormous opportunity for pharmaceutical companies targeting obesity. Analysts estimate that the worldwide market for obesity drugs, devices, and surgical procedures totals hundreds of billions of dollars. Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) introduced Saxenda, its first medical treatment for obesity, to the market over a year ago. Results have been promising, but Saxenda is expensive and requires patient injections. Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS) and Arena (NASDAQ: ARNA) both introduced weight loss drugs designed with the intention of aiding obese people with a BMI of 30 or higher. Neither of these drugs has captured attention or market share like orlistat.

Orlistat, the best-selling weight loss medication of all time, is marketed in different formats by Roche (OTCQX: RHHBY) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK). Orlistat has proven safe and effective in over 100 clinical trials, however, orlistat produces unpleasant gastrointestinal effects that have led to significant sales declines.

Less than a year ago, M Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OTCQB: MPHMF) acquired exclusive rights to a reformulation of orlistat, the obesity drug C-103, in both prescription strength and over-the-counter formulations. With three patient studies completed, M Pharmaceutical’s reformulation of orlistat was shown to eliminate the adverse effects in 98 percent of trial patients.

With patent protection in 131 countries through 2030, M Pharmaceutical has global designs for its reformulation of orlistat and may exceed current orlistat to become the best-selling weight loss medication of all time.

For more information, visit www.M-Pharma.ca

To date, the standard of care for men and women with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been a mix of medications, often pills, from different antiretroviral classes that hinder different steps of the HIV lifecycle. Although generally effective, the drug regimens that currently dominate the HIV treatment space also have limitations. They require daily dosing. They are linked with side-effects. They are vulnerable to drug resistance. And, in some patients, they are simply not effective. As a result, there are long-term HIV survivors who are now dealing with issues of drug resistance and need new treatment options.

There is general agreement within the medical community that HIV treatments will soon be dispensed through subcutaneous or intra-muscular injections. Biotech companies at the forefront of this space, including ViiV Healthcare (a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline), Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and CytoDyn Inc. (OTCQB: CYDY), are now developing this category of drugs and have progressed to the late stages of clinical development.

CytoDyn, with its focus on improving the standard of living for HIV patients, has plans for new breakthrough therapies that serve the unmet needs of a growing number of treatment-experienced HIV patients with virologic failure.

One of the monoclonal antibodies that CytoDyn has under development is its lead drug candidate, PRO 140, a therapeutic anti-viral agent in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of persons already infected with HIV. With several potential benefits, including less frequent dosing and minimal side effects, PRO 140 belongs to a new class of HIV/AIDS therapeutics that protects healthy cells from viral infection. Last month, CytoDyn took an important step to further distinguish PRO 140 from currently-used HIV treatments. It filed a request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asking the federal agency to assign PRO 140 the Breakthrough Therapy Designation.

To learn more about this biotech company’s breakthrough therapies, visit www.CytoDyn.com

Expanded distribution to 36 more of the top national grocery retailers propelled The Alkaline Water Company, Inc. (OTCQB: WTER) to reach revenues of $8,927,976 for the nine months ended December 31, 2016. This represents an increase of 78% compared to $5,010,547 generated during the same period in 2015. For its third quarter ended December 31, 2016, sales were $2,973,689, a 67% increase from its sales of $1,777,701 for the same period in 2015. The company is in the bottled water industry. Its fiscal year ends March 31.

For both periods, the company sharply cut its losses. For the three months ended December 31, 2016, the net loss was $498,374, compared to its loss of $1,094,721 during the same period in 2015. For the nine months ended December 31, 2016, the net loss was $2,787,681, compared to the net loss of $3,644,028 during the same period in 2015.

In its February 14, 2017, SEC 10-Q filing (http://dtn.fm/aHu7g), The Alkaline Water Company, Inc., stated that its jump in revenues for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016, was attributed to the increase in its distribution. In both 2016 and 2015 periods ending on December 31, the company’s products were available in all 50 states. However, for the year ended March 31, 2016, its water products were in 25,000 retail locations instead of just 20,000 the prior year. That increased distribution, the company reported to the SEC, generated the increased revenues for the most recent three- and nine-month periods ended December 31, 2016.

In the SEC filing, the company said that it sells to customers including the food chains of Albertson’s, Safeway, Kroger, Jewel-Osco and more. It also sells to convenience stores and natural foods product stores, the filing stated. It sold direct to large national distributors. In both the three-month and nine-month periods ended December 31, 2016, the company’s increased volume meant that its gross profit rate increased, as it was able to buy raw materials in larger volume from its suppliers. As a result, its losses for both the three months and nine months ended December 31, 2016, were reduced.

In the 10-Q, The Alkaline Water Company, Inc., reported that it had entered, on February 1, 2017, a $3 million, three-year, revolving credit agreement with SCM Specialty Finance Opportunities Fund, L.P. It has drawn $686,080.94 on that financial revolver to pay off the amount it borrowed earlier from Gibraltar Business Capital, LLC. Of the total, $628,782.94 was used to pay off the Gibraltar debt, and the remaining monies paid closing costs.

For more information, visit www.TheAlkalineWaterCo.com

Billions of dollars are generated from the U.S. gambling market each year. Despite a new movement toward online gambling, especially in the United Kingdom, physical brick and mortar casinos are still dominating in terms of revenue.

A political aspect that could impact the casino industry in the U.S. is the election of Donald Trump. Although moral issues still surround the market, the new president has close affiliations with the casino industry. In 2015, gross gaming revenue (GGR) came in at over 40%, but in 2016, according to CasinoNewsDaily.com (http://dtn.fm/r1Qjq), the U.S. was at the top of the full-year losses chart, the number representing the amount staked by gambling customers minus payouts.

According to InvestmentWatchBlog.com (http://dtn.fm/Qfro6), the casino annual growth rate in Nevada came in at 4.5% between 2011 and 2015, with a market growth during that period of 7.3%. Despite it not being known how much revenue makes up the online casino industry compared to the brick and mortar casino industry, slots make up 50% of gaming revenue in Nevada.

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: GDEN), the largest branded tavern operator in Nevada and a market leader in distributed gaming, is set to capitalize on the immensity of the U.S. gambling market through its robust development and acquisition pipeline, which included the acquisitions of C. Lohman Games, Inc. in January 2016, and Amusement Services, LLC in April of the same year. The company now has over 10,000 devices in over 1,000 locations across the United States, including Pahrump Nugget Hotel & Casino, Gold Town Casino, and Lakeside Casino & RV Park, all of which are in Nevada.

Golden Entertainment has multiple paths to achieve meaningful growth. For 2017, the company has seven new taverns under development with a robust pipeline of new-build sites. The company plans to acquire smaller distributed gaming operators that lack the scale to compete in profitability, as well as regional casino assets, and also to reinvest in existing casino properties, such as its Rocky Gap and Pahrump facilities.

Golden Entertainment currently owns rights to potential distributed gaming locations and aims to pioneer new distributed gaming jurisdictions across the country. Additionally, by merging with public gaming operators, the company is offering the potential for increased liquidity to shareholders.

For more information, visit www.GoldenEnt.com

Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNR) announced on February 8, 2017, that it has reached an agreement with Encina Business Credit, LLC (EBC) for a $30 million credit refinancing, including a funded term note, a draw term loan, and a revolving line of credit. The company indicated that the funds will be used to retire debt and for working capital.

Vertex Energy, Inc., refines and markets high quality hydrocarbon products. It filed an 8-K with the SEC on February 7, 2017, defining the new credit facility from EBC.

“The refinance of the company’s prior credit facility reflects our belief in the future growth of the company,” said Benjamin P. Cowart, CEO of Vertex. “We believe that this step was necessary in ensuring that we clean up our balance sheet, which includes paying off both of our prior lenders, consolidating our debt into one facility and strengthening our cash position.”

EBC is an asset-based lender specializing in middle market borrowers. Its revolving lines of credit and term loans range from $5 million to $50 million. It lends to both public and private companies. Positive cash flow is not required.

Cowart added that Vertex Energy is positioned to grow its business in 2017.

“With the financing completed, we were able to close on the acquisition on the assets of a small collection company in Louisiana. With approximately 90 million gallons of processing capacity, we believe that our collections vertical is key to our growth,” he said.

The company anticipates growing its self-collected gallons from some 20% of overall production to 25% in 2017, he added.

The SEC 8-K filing detailed the arrangements with EBC. It stated that $12 million was loaned to Vertex by EBC on February 1, 2017, and an additional $8 million may be loaned from time to time, under the new credit agreement. The other $10 million will be made available by EBC to Vertex under a revolving credit agreement formula, including ‘eligible’ inventory. The revolving credit agreement terminates on February 1, 2020, when any unpaid amounts and interest are due, the filing states.

Vertex Energy, Inc. stated that its use of revolving credit funds would be for working capital, capital expenditures and to refinance existing credit obligations. The company used $11,282,537 for that purpose. As of the filing date, the company had borrowed $12 million of the EBC credit agreement and $884,000 under the revolving credit agreement.

For more information, refer to www.VertexEnergy.com

China is one of the leaders of the online to offline (O2O) market, with this community expected to increase nearly 15-fold in the next five years according to Roland Berger (http://nnw.fm/N2DUc). The country is now leading the O2O world both from an adoption and innovation point of view. Brands across the country are now taking advantage of this new opportunity, with marketing campaigns that incorporate the digital and physical worlds.

Why has the popularity of O2O grown so significantly in the past decade? Firstly, the sheer number of people connected to the internet via a mobile device has grown significantly. New technologies also play a role in this shift toward the O2O market, with more people embracing QR codes that connect them directly to a brand.

The introduction of mobile payments has made everything more accessible to consumers. People are able to pay directly via their mobile devices. Contactless cards and online payments can be made with minimal effort. With China leading the mobile payments industry, new innovative ways of making payments have been put to the test.

However, the surge of mobile devices, the internet, and mobile payments are not the only driving factors of the O2O market in China. Convenience is at the forefront, with design and messaging platforms being a key priority for any business. Moxian, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOXC) has mastered both of these through its Moxian+ Business and Moxian+ User applications.

Providing social marketing and promotional platforms designed to help merchants advertise to their audiences via social media offers companies the chance to create awareness through a simple application. The application has a basic design, giving users the chance to enjoy rewards and get involved with fun activities while meeting new people and playing games. It also allows users to communicate with friends and find out about the latest news through its media messenger feature. Moxian works under the motto of ‘online lifestyle, offline fun’, giving consumers and merchants the chance to interact on a more comprehensive level.

For more information, visit www.Moxian.com