Ted Kaufman on Renewable Energy

While the skeptics argue about snowstorms and climate change, the U.S. is in danger of watching a growing industrial revolution in energy technology from the sidelines. Senator Ted Kaufman writes in the News Journal that "the future lies in growing the green economy."
Kaufman says that's where the smart money is:

Many of our smartest investors see this and are betting on clean energy. John Doerr, who helped fund small startups with names like Amazon and Google, believes it. Vinod Khosla, who founded Sun Microsystems, believes it. Companies that have been on the forefront of innovation for more than a century, like General Electric and Delaware's homegrown champion, DuPont, believe it.

Last summer, I joined a group of environmental leaders who met with our two senators to talk about climate change. I made the economic case for renewable energy, and mentioned an op-ed that John Doerr and GE CEO Jeff Immelt wrote. Our senators' ears perked up at the names; Doerr had met with senators last summer about using energy technology to rebuild our industrial economy. It so happens that Delaware's two senators have MBAs, and understand what Doerr was saying. Kaufman said at the meeting that the U.S. has to be in the business of building something. Unfortunately, Kaufman writes, China is leaping ahead of us:

Last year China became the world's biggest manufacturer of wind turbines. China had already become the leading source of solar panels, and is now working around the clock to expand green technologies -- from nuclear power and carbon capture and storage to more efficient lighting and heating.

Kaufman concludes the renewable energy is a smart investment:

Green technology is not just an environmental movement anymore; it is a wise financial investment and a linchpin in ultimately putting Americans back to work.