From "Red China, Green China"

We need jobs. Not just any old jobs, but jobs that create wealth. Innovation in technologies to replace those that foul our air and soils has the potential. And we are not the only ones that think so...


Snips from the op-ed:

...the demand for everything from solar panels to energy-efficient light bulbs is already booming. Worldwide, $162 billion was spent in new clean-tech investments in 2009 alone.

The United States, with its expertise, capital and entrepreneurial spirit, is well positioned to dominate...But...missing a key ingredient...the political will to encourage the innovation, manufacturing and investment necessary...And the longer America drags its feet, the more it cedes this enormous potential source of national wealth to the only other country able to capture it — China.

...China has a long way to go before it can claim the mantle of global market leadership in clean technology. Unlike the United States, however, it has spent the last few years shaping its industrial policy to achieve precisely that goal.

China’s determination to become the global leader in clean tech has little to do with concerns for the environment and everything to do with jobs...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/opinion/07Usher.html