Michigan’s bid for green economy faces hurdles

By (AP) DETROIT

Published: Sat, June 20, 2009 - 3:00 am Last Updated: Sat, June 20, 2009 - 3:07 am

DETROIT Gov. Jennifer Granholm took to a conference stage this past week to sell a national audience on her vision of a green Michigan a state whose natural resources, hungry work force and empty plants can attract alternative energy jobs.

States must resist the "fallacy" that "so-called green jobs created by alternative-energy development will drive the economic recovery," said James Mulva, chairman and chief executive of Houston-based ConocoPhillips Co., one of the nation's largest oil and gas companies.

"In reality, these sources will cost more than fossil fuels; energy prices will rise," he said. "This could actually hurt the economy and cost jobs or make the U.S. less competitive than countries with cheaper energy."

The International Energy Agency predicts that between 2006 and 2030, worldwide energy demand will grow 45 percent and the sources of supply will remain largely as they are now.

Mulva said the nation "must develop a more diverse basket of energy supplies," but replacing fossil fuels would take "unimaginable effort" advancing the necessary technology, skilled labor and capital investment.

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CenterCut - Alternative Energy & Sustainability

Centercut tracks the political implications of policy, tax subsidies, and direct grants on alternative energy and sustainability projects worldwide.

We review articles and scientific journals the world over to discern emerging and replacement technologies, political trends and the occational intellectual cul-de-sac.

In a world under severe stress all systems require new thinking. It is imperative that sustainability and alternative energy become mantras for creative destruction and cascading innovation. Small incremental advances will 'ripple' across our fragile orb in waves of change unimagined.

Blog Editor: Richard L. Wottrich

CenterCut = Center of Gravity

The greatest challenges in life are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity.

Einstein said, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” But the mysterious absent wisdom is noise, just as knowledge absent experience is irrelevance.

We are either a marvelous human race celebrating the ascendancy of humanity, science and technology, or we are the miscreants who have created a dysfunctional world under severe stress. Our blessing is that we still have a choice.

Richard L. Wottrich

Centercut Definitions

Alternative Energy - Energy Systems derived from sources that do not deplete irreplaceable natural resources or harm the environment.

Sustainability - The ability to maintain balance of a certain process or state in any system, especially related to the depletion of world energy and water resources at a rate that cannot be replaced.

Stakeholders - The end-users or clients, the people from whom requirements will be drawn, the people who will influence the design and, ultimately, the people who will reap the benefits of a completed project.