While the collapse of climate legislation in Congress was a setback for some green businesses, many others are moving ahead with projects to develop renewable energy. One major reason: The clean-tech sector is rapidly growing worldwide, and U.S. companies don’t want to be left behind.
Stephen Hinton, provides a compilation of professionals that will see growth as the US economy goes green. He predicts that those in STEM professions (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) will experience the most job security.
On August 11, the Financial Times reported on the promise of “synthetic biology,” including the development of algae that generates biofuels. In July, ExxonMobil entered into a $600 million venture with Synthetic Genomics, a firm founded by biotech pioneer Dr. Craig Venter. “Synthetic Genomics has already engineered strains of algae that secrete oil from their cells,” writes the FT’s Clive Cookson. Will oil companies transform themselves into algae companies? Or, a few years from now, could the makers of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” film a sequel about algae?
Energy solutions that are described as “smart”, from smart buildings to smart appliances to the Smart Grid and semiconductors are projected to make a huge impact on the United States’ ability to significantly reduce our spending and use of energy. Between now and 2030, electricity bills could be reduced by $1.3 trillion assuming that the right investments and policies are in place, eliminating the need by the end of the period for 296 power plants with the use of the semiconductors used to improve the software capabilities of the technologies we use on a daily basis, says a report released recently by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
A majority of likely voters – 71% – favors the American Clean Energy and Security Act recently passed by the House of Representatives, and two-thirds (67%) believe Congress is either doing the right amount (22%) or should be doing more (45%) to address global warming, new Zogby International telephone poll shows. Just 28% believe that Congress is doing too much.