Late in October the Obama administration and the Senate began efforts to address the problem of global warming and spur the innovation and implementation of new energy sources. Senators Kerry and Boxer introduced a bill that would institute a cap on carbon emissions and promote businesses who employ clean energy.
The government also announced that it will be giving billions of dollars in subsidies to improve the country’s power grid and fund more energy research. Currently, over half of the nation’s energy comes from coal and petroleum, both of which have been proven to have an adverse affect on the environment. There are many alternative energy sources being researched to be a replacement.
When trying to come out of a recession or depression, rapid growth or innovation in a particular industry has proven to be a crucial element. Although the programs of the New Deal helped ease the pain of the Great Depression, most historians agree that the turning point for the economy was WWII. Increased factory production due to the war effort helped spark the financial system and restore some semblance of certainty to the markets.
After the economic decline of the 1980’s, the introduction of PCs and other personal technologies brought us back from the brink of financial disaster. Today we need a similar invention or innovation to get people excited about buying and investing. With the concern over global warming and peak oil, the clear answer seems to be something in the arena of alternative energy.