PROJECT GREEN

Enviro Economics

Despite all their promise, green companies are awash in red ink.

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  • Posted By: Wurlang @ 11/17/2009 11:15:14 PM

    The method of calculating Enviroeconomics Quality (EQ) Rating as a worldwide guide to purchase goods and services was registered in 1990. It includes computations of three distinct subjects to lead to a buyer's guide to peaceful world trade. It is described on website TradebyEnviroeconomics.com. Thomas B. Albright, Lewisville, TX. 469-464-4742

  • Posted By: mc-Iowa @ 01/01/2009 6:07:03 AM

    Tell me something that doesn't require a subsidy, becuase in my thinking just about everything requires some sort of government assistance. The trade of goods is promoted with favorable trade statuses with other countries, producers are given tons of tax benefits, and even consumers recieve subsidies indirectly and occaisionally directly. I like the greedy capitalist idea, but there again there is government promotion through taxes, loans, and hopefully helpful public servant to help put the idea in motion.

    Our capitalistic society would not function without the aid of government, so before railing on subsidies think of all the benefits that have come as a direct result- strong military, cheaper goods and plenty of services (water, electricity, road infrastructures), and a great divesity in the number and types of businesses.

  • Posted By: RayG01 @ 12/27/2008 2:16:05 PM

    Bottom line is that if anything requires a subsidy to exist, it doesn't work. Period.

    If something is better, overall, it will survive in the market place precisely because greedy capitalists will rush in to make money on a great idea.

    If no one is rushing in to make all of that filthy lucre, you can bet that there is something wrong with the idea.

  • Posted By: virgil xenophon @ 12/20/2008 12:18:01 PM

    I note in your article that you mention that "the generous support of governments"
    being necessary for solar development in Europe. IOW the tax-payer has to artificially support something that is neither economically or technologically feasible. If solar looked even half-way feasible as a realistic substitute you couldn't beat private investors off with a stick--the money would come pouring in. Solar--at the present state of development--is nothing but another tax-payer money-pit.

  • Posted By: virgil xenophon @ 12/20/2008 12:02:21 PM

    Enter Your Comment

  • Posted By: nevpat @ 12/19/2008 1:22:05 AM

    I am so sick of green this and green that! The earth is not dying and not even the scientific community is sure about global warming! I recently began complaining about all this green crap to companies I do business with and told them I will stop doing business with them if they keep pushing this nonsense! If you agree start making calls and complain about the false promotion of a theory and let them know you will no longer buy their products as long as they embrace anything and everything to improve their bottom line!

  • Posted By: chrisvb @ 12/17/2008 6:46:56 PM

    anyone that has seen windfarms in operation must have noticed that on the average a significant number of the mills are standing still. combined with a search for "windmills for sale" and the flood of used large mills for sale,gives me the strong feeling that windmills are an uncertain and very expensive way of generating electricity.

  • Posted By: Dollar Wise @ 12/17/2008 3:40:15 AM

    Solar technology works on an indusrtial application (see First Solar). Solar Technology has come that far which is great. Wind technology has come far enough to be competitive as a supplemental electrical power source. (see GE)..

    Replacing Oil as a transportaion fuel source can be done competitively with Natural Gas (see Chesapeake and CLR)..

    Hence Solar is competitive on an industrial basis as a supplemental power supply. Wind is competitive as a supplemental power supply. Natural Gas can easily replace Oil in transportation. However, it pretty much ends right there. The remaining sources of alternative fuels are 10 and 20 years off in the future.

    What remains to be seen is the use of Coal. Since the USA is the Saudi Arabia of Coal, its a resource that needs more "clean" attention. Pittsburgh University, Carnegie Mellon, and West Virginia University went together and started working on cleaner coal technology 30 years ago. There is a mountain of research. With plenty of break throughs as well. One glaring research item that has become actual technology is the new high tech furnaces used to burn coal. If you merely retrofitted all coal burning electrical stations with the new furnace technology and did absolutely nothing else, you would reduce emmissions 30%. Amazing!

  • Posted By: cbdempsey @ 12/16/2008 9:33:50 PM

    The Green Bubble? Did I miss something? There is absolutely no comparison that can be drawn between dotcom and or real estate bubbles and an alleged green bubble at this point in history! No where near the amount of money poured into ICT or real estate has been seen in the green sector. The green bubble will form eventually, but it is nowhere near fruition. The reason there are a lot of green companies in the red, and even more that have not been able to take off yet is because we have absolutely no leadership from our elected leaders and lawmakers (or private industry for that matter) for almost 30 years. We have been alone in the forest without a guide, trying to feel our way out. It is pathetic that The People's Republic of China has the world's most progressive energy and environmental policy!

    • Posted By: Dollar Wise @ 12/17/2008 3:21:36 AM

      Excuse me. The People's Republic of China has the most progressive energy and environment policy???

      The pollution in China is out of control! Past and current pollution has rendered river water unuseable for human and even industrial use in at least two cases. Several other rivers now dry up before they even reach the ocean. North East China is an ecological nightmare.The air qualify in China makes LA smog look good.

      You better go back and examine your facts.

  • Posted By: RO in Reno @ 12/13/2008 11:32:56 AM

    The future of green technologies is going to be tough at best.
    Now that fuel is at the price level it is, while gas was over $4 there was a great deal of enthusiasm for green cars. Enthusiasm that is all but gone in the space of just a few months as gas prices declined.
    Considering the fact the Government depends on the huge tax revenue from gas and to shift that tax to electric cars, in an environment that is requiring tax incentives to invest in green technology is by itself going to be interesting;
    Couple that with the huge cash reserves the oil companies now have, the ability to easily control prices for a very long time and operate with a minimal profit if need be.
    These oil companies are not going to allow the price of oil to again rise to the level that would put them out of business.

    Welcome to Bush's world the future of the planet is now in the hands of Exxon/Mobil and they are only interested in their bottom line not the well being of the people or the planet.
    Bush has accomplished the mission he set and Obama will be facing a headwind in any effort to turn it around no matter how important iit is he do so.

    • Posted By: varacefan @ 12/16/2008 3:05:03 PM

      You know you were making alot of sense until you made it all Bush's fault. Quit wasting time. You sound too smart to be caught up in the "lets blame it all on Bush" crowd. First it was Bush's fault prices were up then it was his fault prices are down. Making outlandish statements can make a smart man, appear dumb.

  • Posted By: GeorgeC_74 @ 12/14/2008 12:32:09 PM

    More comments from stupid brainwashed americans. Someone please kill me so I don't have to sit back any longer and watch generation after generation be turned into zombies.

  • Posted By: austin c @ 12/13/2008 4:10:53 PM

    Like the development and making of new drugs, the research, development and manufacturing of renewable energy, wind , solar, bio fuel and nuclear power require a lot of investment. In spite of large effort has been spent in Europe and US on renewable energy, these renewable energy can not effectively replaces the conventional power generation in a large scale. Even if there is satisfactory outcome on clean energy production as a replacement of conventional power generation, is the general population ready to pay much higher electricity bills during this bad time in economy ?

  • Posted By: nickgt08 @ 12/13/2008 2:34:24 PM

    The only future for green energy is massive, primary, research. We currently do not have any technology that is ready to replace petroleum/coal on a large scale. We need to invest in more research on solar to make it economically viable(right now it only is with heavy subsidiaries, and the energy/resource cost of making a solar panel is very, very, high and dirty). We need to invest more in high energy physics, we need to create an equivalent of the LHC in America(heck we even have a half built shell of an equivalent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_Super_Collider). This type of high energy physics research could eventually lead to the discovery of a much safer and more efficient way of converting mass to energy then current Uranium/Plutonium based technology.

    Arpa-E is our future, lets hope the next congress funds it well.

  • Posted By: 印象伊犁 @ 12/13/2008 4:59:28 AM

    i pretend that i understand about this whole thing--environmental economics
    bcoz i'm from china

  • Posted By: burbank @ 12/13/2008 12:41:42 AM

    That's because all the hype about green energy can't hide the fact that it is still an emerging technology. The hybrid cars, wind, solar and alternative fuels do not have the capabality to replace fossil fuel as the main source of energy that the industrial world uses to power their economy. And until green technology can replace fossil fuel to the extent that it can power a nation's infrastructure independent of other energy sources, green energy will remain a pipe dream that titillates the imagination of those unwilling to admit the severe limitations of atlernative energy.

  • Posted By: naveeny1974 @ 12/12/2008 8:17:40 PM

    IF anyone actually believes that oil will still stay at this prices is very foolish.

    • Posted By: Forty4 @ 12/12/2008 9:59:26 PM

      Agreed. Opec is cutting back production as we speak in an effort to prevent further gasoline price reduction....

  • Posted By: olderwiser @ 12/12/2008 8:22:35 PM

    What? We're not going to run our cars on all that corn?

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