Americans Don't Care About Climate Change | And That's OK |

…the full force of the free market is lining up behind renewable energy without the government’s help. Business incubators focused on solar and clean tech are springing up. Annual investment in clean tech in North America, Europe, Israel, India, and China grew from about $500 million in 2001 to more than $8.4 billion in 2008.

It’s deeply disturbing that more Americans don’t believe in climate change—our broad rejection of science is a national embarrassment. But thankfully, there are larger forces at work than political posturing. Once clean energy becomes the cheaper option, even skeptics will recognize a deal.

I’ve shared this viewpoint on climate change for several years, while listening to left-leaning and right-leaning friends argue the legitimacy of the issue. My answer: The markets will determine its validity, and if there is enough demand then firm’s will develop to meet those needs. An immediate Problem for America (not mentioned in the linked article) is that a vast majority of the solar production business belongs to China. Other nations will have a difficult time creating the firm-clusters required to support such an industry. Look forward to watching how trade agreements develop to serve these new markets.

J N O M I C S