Sunday, March 23, 2008

Clean Technology - The Answer to Our Economic Woes?

In the article "Clean Tech is Only Hope for the Collapsing Economy", Eric Janszen argues that the foundation of our economy should switch from finance and real estate to alternative energy and infrastructure as the answer to our economic woes. It's a very interesting take on how to fix the downturn in the housing market and the possible recession that we are in. One suggestion Janszen has to finance a new clean tech industry without creating another "bubble" is to gradually inflate oil prices to $200 or $300 a barrel since the economy has responded relatively well to the increase from $20 to $100 a barrel. This seems pretty risky since the American public is already in an uproar about oil prices. It could work well if there are plenty of alternatives already in place although the increased price would be to finance the technology to create alternatives so it's really a Catch-22. Who should take on the responsibility of financing the new clean tech industry, the public or the government? An investment in infrastructure at the same time would create new jobs and perhaps help finance a boom in the clean tech industry. Any way it happens, it needs to happen soon. I agree with Janszen. The real estate and finance bubbles have popped, and we need to look into new ways in which to base our economy.

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