Comments on: Should U.S. Fear a “Green War” with China?

By: Marjory Getts

Marjory Getts — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:21:16 +0000

your post is damn comfortable to read!

By: Not Buyin It

Not Buyin It — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:45:17 +0000

She left out this important part. All renewable energy is expensive. It is expensive energy development paid for with additional taxation of the US populace. What we don’t want, is to have our tax payer dollars being used as fuel to destroy the indigenous US renewable industry via China.

It’s not complicated. The Chinese can do what they want. Just not with US taxpayer dollars.

By: Renewable Ray

Renewable Ray — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:30:05 +0000

The U.S. worker should fear it, but not the consumer. Thank god for the Chinese, without them we would have no solar at this point for the small off grid customers. Between the professional installers and “big grid” we may never have any solar to speak of here. $20,000 to install solar….yea right, and next they think we will pay $40,000 for a Chevy Volt. At that rate neither one of these U.S. industries deserve the jobs. Give me my Chinese solar panels and my Tata from India please.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:18:05 +0000

Devon,

I couldn’t agree more with you cautionary statement. I agree that we are stagnating, despite our current advantage in innovation. Like our current economy, it is not sustainable without new and more focused investments in everything from R&D to manufacturing to point of use technologies. I sincerely appreciate your input.

Cheers,

Dan Harding
Calfinder Solar

By: Devon Swezey

Devon Swezey — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:53:01 +0000

Great Article. I couldn’t agree more with you when you write: “Larson and others like her claim to be assuaging fears, which sounds hunky-dory, but in fact, are preaching acquiescence and complacency while perhaps the biggest opportunity this country has ever had to build a real and sustainable economy passes us by.” This is a similar criticism I made of Larson and others in my recent blog post on the subject here:

http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/2010/02/its_not_all_good_why_you_shoul.shtml

One thing that I would caution in your and other arguments, though, is the extent to which we can suggest that the United States can rely on its current advantages in innovation to keep it ahead of economic rivals. While the United States is certainly still one of the most innovative nations in the world, many emerging economies and nations in the EU are quickly catching up, and the United States is failing to invest to boost its innovative capacity–we are stagnating. The problem with more and more clean tech manufacturing going to China is that over time, the R&D and innovation may follow, especially as China also becomes one of the largest domestic markets for clean tech in the near future.

Thanks for your great contribution to this debate.

Best,

Devon Swezey
Project Director
Breakthrough Institute