Green Options

President Barack Obama gathered politicians and public last night to talk about how to avert the worst economic disaster in since the depression through his plan to improve health care, schools and the environment.

The bailout plan is not working. This morning’s New York Times has reported that the U.S. government is facing mounting pressure to add to the bailout kitty. Should the government continue to plug the hole?

2008 - what a year! As we get ready to draw the curtains on one of the most unsettling economic years in history, we the writers of the Inspired Economist are still wondering… was this year one that has left our battered economy begging for inspiration? Or have the sustainable events of 2008 spearheaded the initiation of what we believe is truly an Inspired Economy?

2008 was about the $700 billion bailout. Foreclosures. The plummeting stock market. As the year came [...]

By Lester R. Brown

At a time when major U.S. companies are announcing job layoffs almost daily, the renewable energy industry is hiring new workers every day to build wind farms, install rooftop solar arrays, and build solar thermal and geothermal power plants. The output of industrial firms that manufacture the equipment for these energy facilities is expanding by well over 30 percent a year. These investments both create jobs and help prevent climate change from spiraling out of control.

Among the several sources of renewable energy, wind looms large. The United States has 24,000 megawatts of wind generating capacity already online (think 24 coal-fired power plants), and 83 wind farms with some 8,000 megawatts of capacity are under construction. Beyond this, a staggering 225,000 megawatts of planned wind farms are waiting for access to transmission lines.

Currently, the United States has 40 plants manufacturing wind power components. Eight of these plants are assembling wind turbines, 20 are fabricating wind towers, and 12 are making blades. In addition, many more manufacturing facilities are under construction, recently announced, and in planning. Every billion dollars invested in wind farms creates some 3,350 jobs—nearly four times the 870 jobs created with a similar investment in coal-fired power plants. (See data.)

Catchy title huh? Okay, maybe we won’t save the world, but our kids might. And when my kids leave their mark on the world you can bet I’ll be standing next to them going, “yeah! That’s my son/daughter.”

Today I got about as ticked off as a woman can be. I was watching the big three auto makers (weren’t there five when I was a kid?) re-approach Washington and ask for a bailout. Why re-approaching? Because they were shunned by the Senate, who thought it fiscally irresponsible to bail them out of a mess they’d created for themselves.

Now they’re asking the President. 

Screech

Although many valid arguments have been put forth that the bailout of US automakers is not a positive move - Wall Street appears to think otherwise. Today’s stock market is showing an early rally with all major indices up.