All entries by this author

Report Boasts 3 to 6x More Jobs from Green Investments

Nov 6th, 2009 | By Mark Langner | Category: Front Page, green economy

So I am looking at this report on green jobs
According to the report, renewable energy technologies provide three to six times as many jobs as equivalent investments in fossil fuels when manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance jobs are taken into account.
This is marketing genius.  What this is telling me is that renewable energy technologies are [...]



Investment Bankers and George Bush - Heros of the Environmental and Cleantech Movement?

Mar 5th, 2009 | By Mark Langner | Category: Diaries, Energy Policy, Front Page, Green Policy, Most Recent Stories, renewable energy, solar power

Pop quiz. Looking forward 10 years, if you had to choose between two groups - Group 1: Investment bankers and GWB or Group 2: The NRDC and WWF - to guess which group’s actions will have had bigger positive impact on the course of environmental policy, cleantech and green living over that time - which group would you choose? If you chose Group 2 - then you obviously don’t know a trick question when you see one.



Stimulus Package will Plow Billions into Batteries - Money Well Spent?

Feb 23rd, 2009 | By Mark Langner | Category: Battery Technology, Diaries, Front Page, Green Transportation, Hybrid Cars

Battery Companies are poised to reap billions from the federal stimulus package. Serious questions remain, however, as to the viability of this plan… Is the money better spend on other technologies such as biofuels and hydrogen?



Oil Price Projections Continue to Change Radically - No Sign of Volatility Relief

Nov 14th, 2008 | By Mark Langner | Category: Front Page, green economy

Its not an enviable job to sort out the variables that go into oil price projections - but given the magnitude of the revisions we are seeing in these projections I have to wonder how effective the projection models are in dealing with the volatility that the market is showing - what good model that results in a projection that changes by 30 to 100% on a yearly basis? I have no idea as to how much this impacts the volatility of oil prices - but it can’t help.

The pricing volatility for oil is not only hurting price projection efforts - but its having an impact on production planning. Will it impact green investment in alternatives as well?



BP and Berkeley Biofuels Lab = Public Interest?

Nov 10th, 2008 | By Mark Langner | Category: Battery Technology, BioFuels, Energy Policy, Front Page

BP and Berkeley (and the DOE) have teamed up to pour $500MM into research for biofuels. There was a fluff piece on NPR today about that effort. While on the surface it might be considered admirable that a big oil company would invest in our research of alternative fuel technologies - when you peel back the onion and really look at the deal - its a big giveaway to big oil wrapped in a public relations friendly package.