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Earth Day: Participating in the Green Economy

Miranda — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:00:52 +0000

Source: sxc.hu Photo: andrewatla

When we think about Earth Day, we often consider what we can do for the planet. This isn’t a bad thing, and there are many relatively painless ways to go green, helping the earth. But Earth Day doesn’t have to be all you figuring out how to help the planet. Going green can be good for your financial situation as well – if you are prepared to participate in the green economy.

There is speculation that a new green economy is coming. This economy will be based around industries that provide green friendly and sustainable products. We have already seen signs of its emergence to this point, but in the next 10 years, the green economy is expected to really take off. If you want to participate in the green economy – and use it to improve your personal economy – there are opportunities available.

Looking for Green Jobs

If you are looking for a job in the green economy, there are up and coming careers in the following areas:

Environmental Law
Government Planning (Land Use)
Waste Management and Recycling
Green and Renewable Energy Development
Green Construction

E: The Environmental Magazine offers a look at hot jobs in the areas of eco-tourism, complementary care (alternative medicine combined with traditional Western medicine), green technology (IT), eco-educators, and green consulting (for companies). Indeed, if you have skills in a particular area, you might be able to find a job in the green economy. You can even look at some of the job requirements for different green jobs, and then get a little education to help you develop skills that are marketable in a green economy. Some jobs sites that offer green job listings include:

Investing in Green Companies

Another way that you can participate in the green economy is to invest in companies that are related to the environment, renewable energy or that are environmentally friendly. Google (GOOG) routinely makes the list of sustainable companies, even though it isn’t directly involved in producing green products. Starbucks (SBUX) also makes such lists, for its support of organically grown coffee and fair trade.

You can also engage in more direct involvement when you invest in renewable energy companies like First Solar (FSLR). There are mutual funds, index funds and ETFs that allow you to invest in a variety of green companies at once. There are funds devoted clean energy, alternative energy, sustainable companies and even green real estate. You can look for socially responsible funds, individual stocks and more when you look for the right opportunities. If you get in now, before the green economy really heats up, there is a chance that you could see large gains in the coming years. Of course, due to the nature of the market, and the fact that many green investments are new and untested, there is also the risk of loss. If you back a company that ultimately fails, you could find yourself in trouble.

The opportunities are there. Being green can not only help Earth; if you look for the right chances, you can participate in the green economy and help the planet while you make your own green.

Disclaimer: I am not an investment professional. Nothing in this piece or on this Web site should be construed as investment advice. Before making investment decisions, do your own research and/or consult with an investment professional. All investment comes with the risk of loss. You are responsible for your own investment decisions and any loss that may result from your decisions.

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Earth Day: Participating in the Green Economy

State of the Union: Can Barack Obama Kickstart the Economy?

Miranda — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:59:56 +0000

Warning: The following constitutes my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt. I’m not an economist. And I’m a progressive (without party affiliation).

photo credit: swanksalot

Last night, President Barack Obama delivered his first State of the Union Address. Acknowledging some of his own mistakes, reminding people that the mess he inherited could hardly be fixed in a single year, calling for bipartisanship and unity, and presenting an ambitious list of things he’d like done going forward — especially in terms of helping the economy, the President managed to restore a little of the old magic that got him into office. A CBS poll taken just after the speech showed an 83% approval rating of the State of the Union Address.

Even though people are revved up now, and even though all of the economic stimulus ideas sound nice, the real question is this: Will Obama’s policies help the economy?

What President Obama Wants to do for the Economy

Since jobs seem to be the thing on everyone’s mind, the President made an effort to address that very issue. He unveiled plans to help businesses by providing a tax incentive for new hiring, as well as for investment in new equipment and new plants. He also wants to take $30 billion of the money repaid by Wall Street banks and use it to help community banks so that they can extend more credit to small businesses that hire new employees or that raise wages. Helping small businesses, and providing more security for workers, would certainly help the economy. It would instill confidence, as well as encourage businesses and individuals to spend a little more. And we all know that the U.S. economy relies a great deal on the spending done by consumers and businesses.

Additionally, Obama highlighted the fact that rebuilding our infrastructure and developing alternative energy technologies should be priorities. He insisted that green jobs and an upgraded infrastructure would help the economy, since these items provide a need for employment. Not only would we be able to increase our efficiency, but green energy projects and innovation would reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Obama even included nuclear power in the clean technology category, and managed to get even Republicans to applaud that move (they didn’t applaud even the tax cuts). We do need an improved infrastructure, and being able to build one while putting people to work would certainly help the economy. But it will cost a lot of money, and the deficit is growing.

Obama once again reiterated his commitment to the middle class, but pointing out that he did cut taxes for middle class workers earlier this year, and that tax credits for things like homes and cars benefit the middle class as well. He expressed a desire to help the middle class, and insisted that would be his focus with education reform, health care reform and financial regulatory reform. Honestly, a little more help for the middle class is probably a good thing. But, once again, the immediate stimulating effects might be outweighed by the costs down the road. Sometime, someone is going to have to raise taxes to pay for the recent cuts and the spending.

And, finally, the President laid out plans for a spending freeze on certain areas of the government. With the deficit ballooning at a rapid rate (although much of the economic stimulus deficit spending took place before Obama’s administration, the current government has certainly been keeping the pace), Obama insisted that spending need to be brought under control. While a spending freeze is certainly a step in the right direction, Republicans make a valid point when they point out that the freeze doesn’t apply to the biggest spending areas of the government. $250 billion is hardly anything when laid next to the trillions in deficits we’ve got right now. But it’s probably better than nothing.

Reality Check

If implemented, many of President Obama’s ideas could probably help the economy. In fact, if many of Obama’s ideas had been implemented at the beginning of the year, in the form he wanted them implemented, we’d probably be much further along with economic growth. (We’d have a bigger deficit, too, though. Of course, down the road the economic growth might have outweighed that. Or not. Maybe we’d just have more debt with crushing interest payments and an economy in worse shape long term. That’s for the economists to hash out with their often conflicting theories.)

The reality is that there is a limit to what any president can do. He can offer policy ideas and try to get those implemented, but most of it is out of his hands. Health care reform is a good example. The “reform” bill that has been dubbed “Obamacare” looks almost nothing like what the President wanted while he was campaigning and bears very little resemblance to what he asked for at the beginning of summer 2009.

A smaller example is the economic stimulus package. Obama wanted more job creation in that package, but settled for a compromise that cut the total cost of the bill, leaving out job creation but leaving in plenty of pork. And that’s the rub. Instead of just creating legislation that does one thing, Congress likes omnibuses with riders, cramming in as much pork as possible. The truth is that even if spending bills for helpful things are passed, they will probably be inflated with the kind of pork that gets individual Congresspeople re-elected while adding to an already-dangerous deficit. And, unfortunately, Obama has been going along, supporting the legislation once it’s passed, and doing his best to sell it to the American people.

In reality, we are a nation crippled by our own inconsistencies about money. People expect government to alleviate more of their problems (provide jobs, fix the health care system, offer Social Security, provide an education, etc.), but they don’t want to pay for it with tax dollars. (Make no mistake. Taxes are going to have to be raised at some point. Heaven help whatever President and Congress get to make that decision.) They want the deficit to shrink, but they applaud Senators and Representatives who bring pork barrel projects to their areas, infusing districts with federal funding.

No matter what the President says, and no matter what he may like to have happen, the bottom line is that Washington is set up to maintain the status quo. All the ideas and eloquence in the world won’t change that, and Obama is likely to find himself a frustrated president unable to do much of real impact for the economy while partisan bickering continues as each party worries more about taking the other down than actually attending to the people’s business.

What do you think? Does any president have the ability to help the economy? Can Barack Obama’s ideas help the economy?

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State of the Union: Can Barack Obama Kickstart the Economy?

Wind Farms May be a Health Risk

admin — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 19:59:17 +0000

New research indicates that the sub-sonic noise and vibration generated by the wind farms may be a health risk and can cause heart disease, panic attacks, migraines and other health problems. Subsequently, the researcher advises that any new wind farm installations be at least 2 kms away from residential areas. The researcher also worries that the powerful wind lobby will make sure that this research stays out of the public limelight, evoking shades of the tobacco lobby activities in the past.

A standard retort, of course, is to counter this with similar arguments about the possible harms caused by living too close to a coal mine or a nuclear power plant. However, I do not think that the researcher is making a point here that wind energy should not be pursued. I think the take away from this ought to be that we need to carefully evaluate the risks of this technology and than plan the installations in such a way that the harmful effects are minimized. Unlike a coal mine where there is very little choice in where to dig (you dig where the coal is), wind farms do offer a little more flexibility on where they are installed. Install them in commercial areas, or on the highway medians, or in the large farmlands or even offshore. Afterall, we will probably need to re-work the electrical grid to incorporate wind and solar in the US.

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Wind Farms May be a Health Risk

Can Geothermal Energy Be a Major Part of Our Energy Plan?

briskycapital — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:12:47 +0000

Right now alternative fuels and sources of energy are gaining a lot of traction. If conventional fuel prices spike again (which I expect to happen), we’re going to see even more demand for alternative sources of energy. One type of energy you don’t read a lot about is geothermal energy. But I think you’re going to be hearing more about it soon. For those who don’t know, geothermal is energy from heat inside the earth’s core. It is typically extracted by drilling wells at various depths to harness the earth’s energy. It is done through various means.

The advantages of geothermal energy are:

1) Its better for the environment than fossil fuels. A lot better. With new environmental legislation coming soon restricting emissions, companies are going to start looking harder at this type of energy.

2) Its cheaper than other alternative energies. The big cost for geothermal is upfront. This is why private capital is necessary. The recession has hindered the amount of private capital looking for these types of projects, but that will likely come back. This quote summarizes the differences in price:

Geothermal energy is expected to cost about 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour by 2030 compared to 8.1 cents per kilowatt for wind, 12.5 cents per kilowatt hour for concentrating solar thermal and about 22.9 cents per kilowatt hour for solar photovoltaic, according to the Energy Department.

3) Geothermal energy provides base-load power. Utility companies need a continuous source of energy to meet minimum energy demands, or basically a 24/7 source. Geothermal provides that. This is a big advantage over sources like solar and wind, which can be intermittent.

Like any alternative energy, there are barriers to entry. To me, the most important factors that limit geothermal energy are A) Political Will, and B) Private Capital.

Political Will behind Geothermal Energy

As far as politics goes, the right group of politicians are in Washington if you’re looking for a change in our energy plan. Some of this is already happening. You also have what are called “renewable portfolio standards”, which are being enacted all across the country. They require states to generate a certain percentage of their electricity through renewable sources. California is one of the first to go into effect with 20% required by 2010. This is good news for geothermal, as much of its potential is in the Western U.S., as evidenced by the included map. We’re also seeing plenty of tax credits and incentives through the federal government. The economic stimulus plan added some money for renewables, and I expect those type of measures to continue.

Subterranean Temperatures at depth of 6 kms

Private Capital to Support Geothermal Energy Projects

Private capital funds and individual consumer money is flowing into geothermal as well. Google’s philanthropic arm Google.org is also granting money to geothermal research and projects. This technology is definitely starting to gain some awareness, and Google is taking a big role in it.

How can you we invest in geothermal? The largest players are diversified energy companies like Calpine and Chevron. For me, that is too indirect. I like Ormat Technologies (symbol ORA). I think they are the best pure play on geothermal. They sell electricity through their own plants, but also sell products and help set up geothermal projects for companies all over the world. They just reported a great quarter with a strong outlook ahead. The stock is expensive, at 22x forward earnings, but the shares would look attractive if we see any pullback.

So what’s the bottom line here? Geothermal isn’t developed enough to be a stand-along solution to our energy problems, but it can be a major player in our revamped energy plan. It will just take more time, awareness, and willingness of political leaders. Overall, I think geothermal has a bright future.

Disclosure: Author does not own shares in companies mentioned.

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Can Geothermal Energy Be a Major Part of Our Energy Plan?