I was on FoxBusiness yesterday, talking with Stuart Varney about the green jobs number that has come out from the Obama administration.
There were three points I wanted to make on the subject:
1.) What qualifies as a green job? What counts? We need a clear definition to determine whether the accounting is accurate and the impact is greatest.
2.) Only $5B of the $90B stimulus commitment to clean energy has moved thus far. How can we more efficiently move that capital to put it to work?
3.) Lack of manufacturing base for clean energy in the US calls into question the number and quality of the jobs that will be created here in the US. Will they be just service-oriented? Will that have significant impact on the larger economy?
You can judge for yourself whether I succeeded. Let me know what you think.
The World Economic Forum made its selection of Technology Pioneers for 2010 last month. The Energy and Environment group is an impressive list:
BioFuelBox
BioFuelBox builds, owns and operates modular bio-refineries that recycle brown grease and trap grease and waste water sludge for companies and cities, converting it into premium clean burning fuel for local use. It eliminates the waste streams on site and shares part of the fuel profits with its customers. Steve Perricone, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer www.biofuelbox.com Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy aims to change the way the world generates and consumes energy by converting a wide range of renewable and traditional fuels into electricity through a highly efficient electrochemical reaction, rather than combustion. K.R. Sridhar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer www.bloomenergy.com Boston-Power
Boston-Power is pioneering the use of lithium-ion and other materials capable of powering end applications ranging from portable consumer electronic devices to electric vehicles. Christina Lampe-Onnerud, Founder and Chief Executive Officer www.boston-power.com Care Electric Energia
CARE has designed a turbine system that generates energy from the natural flow of a river, without any alternation of its natural state. It provides fish passage facilities and does not dam the normal flow of materials in the river, conserving the fauna, vegetation and ecosystem. Johann Hoffmann, Founder Epuramat
Epuramat’s technology promises to revolutionize waste water treatment. Its Extreme Separator achieves an efficiency of up to 99% in terms of solid/liquid separation of organic and inorganic particles in wastewater and liquids – and it does it in only one treatment step. David Din, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer www.epuramat.com eSolar
eSolar aims to become the first solar electricity company to reach parity with the cost of fossil fuel. It hopes to achieve that goal with technology that concentrates the sunlight of mirrors of one square metre to produce steam at centralized towers. Bill Gross, Founder and Chief Executive Officer www.esolar.com Lehigh Technologies
Lehigh Technologies manufactures very small, micron scale, engineered rubber powders from material derived from scrap tires using a proprietary, cryogenic, grinding technology. These powders are novel materials that are currently used in the manufacture of new tires and other rubber goods. Alan Barton, Chief Executive Officer www.lehightechnologies.com Metabolix
Metabolix aims to create a new class of materials that can serve as an alternative to petroleum-based plastics. It has developed bio-based and biodegradable plastics using both engineered microbes and engineered bio-energy crops that grow bio-plastic directly inside leaves and stems. Richard P. Eno, President and Chief Executive Officer www.metabolix.com Serious Materials
The construction industry is responsible for 52% of C02 emissions worldwide, which is more than automobiles, transportation and industry combined. Serious Materials is tackling the problem with high tech building materials that include super insulating products. Kevin Surace, Founder and Chief Executive Officer www.seriousmaterials.com Vihaan Networks Limited (VNL)
VNL has developed a solar-powered GSM system specifically for remote and rural areas where people have less than US$ 2 a month to spend on their phone bills. Its base stations, which cost one-quarter of traditional equipment, only require as much energy as a 50-watt light bulb. Rajiv Mehrotra, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer www.vnl.in
The Technology Pioneers program is the World Economic Forum's way of identifying and integrating companies – normally in a start-up phase or in their first rounds of financing – from around the world that are involved in the design and development of new technologies. The innovations of these companies reflect society’s attempts to harness, adapt and use technology to change and improve the way business and society operate.
Each year, hundreds of innovative companies from around the world are nominated, and approximately 30 are recognized as Technology Pioneers in three categories:
1. Biotechnology and Health
2. Energy and Environmental Technologies
3. Information Technologies and New Media.
For more information on the Technology Pioneers, visit the web site or download the brochure.
I've made some adjustments to my Green Skeptic Stock Portfolio for this year.
All of these stocks are in the cleantech, energy, or environmental sector. (Note: I may hold other positions outside this sector and have an IRA that may have other positions as well, but this portfolio is strategically focused for specific investments in this sector.)
A couple of other things you should know about this list, in addition to the disclaimer below:
I rarely short any stocks. Although I am tempted sometimes, I'm neither smart enough of a trader nor can I pay close enough attention to the market to do it well. So, the bulk of my portfolio is Long, but I'm also watching or tracking other stocks for either an entry, re-entry, or just because I'm curious about what's happening in a particular sector -- or they are a direct competitor of another stock I hold.
My interest in the companies whose stock I buy and hold is based upon a belief in the company, their product, their potential in the market, and whether I think they are or will be a market leader. (Don't let me fool you, I don't think I'm smart enough to predict whether they will be best in class either! But "ya gotta have one vice," as my Grandmother used to say.)
Anyway, here is my list of long positions and my watch list for 2010:
You will note that I am using the StockTwits convention for identifying ticker symbols, which includes a dollar sign. If you don't know about StockTwits, read my post here: StockTwits: Break Away from the Usual Market Noise or head on over to StockTwits.com and sign up for some of the best dialog and community on the web.
(Disclosure: I hold long positions in some of the stocks listed above. This post is for informational purposes only and is neither intended to be investment advice nor an offer, or the solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any securities.)
The hulabaloo stems from the following passage from The New Yorker profile by Nick Paumgarten:
"One of the books on the list was 'Heaven and Earth: Global Warming—the Missing Science,' a skeptical take on climate change. Mackey told me that he agrees with the book's assertion that, as he put it, 'no scientific consensus exists' regarding the causes of climate change; he added, with a candor you could call bold or reckless, that it would be a pity to allow 'hysteria about global warming' to cause us 'to raise taxes and increase regulation, and in turn lower our standard of living and lead to an increase in poverty.' One would imagine that, on this score, many of his customers, to say nothing of most climate scientists, might disagree. He also said, 'Historically, prosperity tends to correlate to warmer temperatures.'"
But he already answered critics, telling Paumgarten,
"I have my own views, and they're not necessarily the same as Whole Foods'...People want me to suppress who I am. I guess that's why so many politicians and C.E.O.s get to be sort of boring, because they end up suppressing any individuality to conform to some phony, inauthentic way of being. I'd rather be myself."
Now, I don't shop at Whole Paycheck, frankly because it's always seemed overpriced and under quality. I prefer Trader Joe's or our local food co-op. And Mackey has some pretty wacky views -- his embracing of the "Course in Miracles" is example enough -- and has done some bonehead things (remember the Wild Oats scandal).
But the fact that Mackey can't express his doubts about the "consensus" on climate change without people calling for his head is just ludicrous. Give the guy a break. Don't patronize his store if you don't agree with him, but stop the witch hunt, please. You're acting as bad as your enemy.
Here's The Green Skeptic's list of the top ten green books of the decade 2000-2009. This reflects my personal favorites and not necessarily their influence or popularity among the reading public.
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by Thomas L. Friedman
by Joy Williams
by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger
by Rebecca Solnit
by Jonathan Bate
by James Gustave Speth 
by William Easterly
by Alex Steffen
by Angus Fletcher
by Carl Safina![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vyRaMdenvyeWFYu7tsB-3mV8g_DVH8b4Kt5VDbYL9n8_08ZCZcmdV_OiiaFuWHqvuujfYd4Gyn6Vv5sJybf2CVwpNhFkqJtpLRPP32PB5Bkn1D2I8LQsfok52ad5n1oGcB6emCXCQSSdnH7q5cWA8a=s0-d)
