This site has two purposes. The first is to help me research and then publicize a book on this subject (Green Stock Investing, due out from John Wiley & Sons in 2008). The second is to explain why clean tech will be one of the great growth stories of the next few decades and--vastly more important--come up with some ways to invest in it without getting creamed as so many did during the
dot-com meltdown. This is a complex story, with a lot of moving parts and a constant flow of new information. Luckily, it’s all out there in accessible form. So here's a lesson plan, consisting of some crucial pieces of background information followed by links to the most useful
websites sites.
1. Understand the intersecting trends that create the need for clean technologies. A good primer on the impact of environmental
degradation on social stability is Jared Diamond's
Collapse.
For the threat presented by "peak oil," there are about a dozen good
recent books. Three that I'd recommend are
Twilight in the Desert,
The Long Emergency, and
The End of Oil.
3. Bookmark the “Must-Visit Websites” described below.
4. Check out the other
websites and
books listed here.
Do all this, and nothing that happens in the next few years will surprise you.
Must-visit websites:
Alt Energy
Investor
A nice clean site that presents the latest news on solar, wind, and the
other emerging alternative energy sources, along with extensive news
archives.
CleanEdge
The site of a clean-tech consultancy which offers breaking news and a
number of free reports on various aspects of this market.
CleanTech
An investors group that offers access to indexes of clean-tech stocks
and private equity deal-flow. The same firm also runs
Inside
GreenTech, a good source of breaking news.
Hydrogen & Fuel Cell
Investor
A venerable newsletter that's been covering fuel cells for a long time,
through the technology's many ups and downs. Tons of background
information and breaking news.
