By Beth Starkin, GreenPepper
With the economy still shaky, and much of the country desperately needing new jobs as unemployment soars, it seems we are all looking at green as the best potential to find gold. The $85 billion in stimulus funds have just added fuel to the fire, with everyone and anyone looking for the next great green opportunity to save us all.
It’s certainly refreshing to see so many individuals, investors and major corporations jumping on the green bandwagon, but it’s a little scary as well. While there are some great ideas out there, there are also many half-baked ones, and with the mad rush to make all things green, it seems that we aren’t giving close enough attention to what is real and what’s just hype. Unfortunately, the fall-out as we realize how much money has been wasted funding ineffective companies is going to ultimately make the road that much rougher for those with viable ideas and companies.
Take, for example, the recent ruling against Cello about fraudulent claims about their ethanol (it was actually entirely derived from fossil fuel, not renewable sources). The rest of the biofuels industry is now left to clean up the mess, and convince increasingly skeptical officials, VC’s and consumers that the industry is in fact legitimate and holds promise.
So, while we definitely should keep the new ideas flowing and push funding to those that seem to have a place in our future, we need to go in with our eyes open and carefully pick the reality out from the hype. Otherwise, the industry as a whole is going to be negatively impacted by a few bad seeds.
It is a bit of juggling game in the coal industry and coal prices from underground mines to ensure enough electricity and steel capacity worldwide while making sure the impact on the environment and people is minimal. www.coalportal.com
Posted by: coalportal | October 15, 2011 at 02:39 AM