- Mythbuster busts his own tale
- 10 open source companies to watch
- Sony recalls 73,000 Vaio laptops
- Tool to evade China's Web censorship
- Chrome and Firefox and add-ons
Newsletters | Podcasts | Chats | Opinions | RSS Feeds | This Week In Print | IT Careers | Community | Reports | Downloads | Slideshows | New Data Center
Partner Sites:App Performance | On Demand Security | Networking Solution | SOA | Value of WDS
A group of technology executives said Wednesday that the world is facing an energy crisis, and they called on U.S. policymakers to embrace a "green tech" agenda focused on encouraging energy conservation and reducing U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources.
Members of TechNet, a network of tech-company CEOs, asked the U.S. government to double its funding for basic energy research, to designate a federal agency that would oversee energy research and technology solutions and increase tax incentives for new energy technologies. Six tech executives were in Washington, D.C., to push the green tech policy agenda, saying a government partnership is needed to make the U.S. the world leader in new green technologies.
But the group said they also see profit in new energy technologies. "It's a crisis that's going to bring about huge opportunities," said K.R. Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy, a fuel-cell startup. "New opportunities will make energy abundant, sustainable and available for all mankind."
While some executives compared the predicted energy crisis to the U.S. sending astronauts to the moon, John Doerr, a partner in the venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, said that comparison understates the problem. "We need much more than ... an Apollo Project," he said. "This is no single silver bullet. This is an entire re-industrialization of the planet."
Without green-friendly policies from the U.S. government, new energy technologies will flourish in other countries that subsidize the industry, the executives said. Although solar-power technology was invented in the U.S., Germany now creates more than half of the world's solar power, said David Pearce, CEO of Miasolé, a manufacturer of solar cells. The executives said they aren't asking for subsidies, but for more friendly U.S. policies.
"I think it really does take the entrepreneurs, the companies and the government working together," Pearce said.
Among the pieces of the TechNet green policy agenda:
-- The U.S. government should fund new university partnerships and research focused on energy technologies.
-- The government should increase consumer incentives for reducing energy consumption.
-- The government should establish minimum standards for the amount of energy coming from renewable resources.

In this whitepaper learn how Retrospective Network Analysis (RNA) has proved a different type of...
SNMP Monitorin One Critical Component to Network ManagementSNMP is a valuable tool to any network administrator who requires complete visibility into the...
Monitoring and Managing App PerformanceThis paper defines application analysis, discusses the different categories of tools on the market,...

Double-Take (r) Software and Microsoft are teaming up on September 9, 2008 for a webinar focusing...
Transforming the Enterprise WAN Edge: Video from CiscoLife on the edge of your WAN has changed dramatically. With the need to deliver advanced services,...
PoE Plus: Impact on the PoE MarketThe standard for Power over Ethernet (PoE), IEEE Std. 802.3af(tm)-2003, advanced networking,...

Archiving, backup and data protection take on ever more critical roles in the enterprise. Data...
The New Network/System Management ChallengesIncreasingly popular technologies such as virtualization, wireless networking and data center...
Virtualization Reality CheckFind out why analysts say approaching virtualization with an ounce of caution is wise. And also why...
Partner Content
Explore the Ultrium Edge
The powerful tape technology can address data security with tape encryption as well as long term data protection.
Find out more
Disk and Tape Square Off
Discover what disk and tape really cost -- and which solution provides lower total cost of ownership and optimizes energy use for your organization
Download the White Paper
Don't Fall For The Myths
The Clipper Group explores the truth behind the myths of tape, digging into the misconceptions in the disk vs. tape debate.
Download the White Paper
Will You Add Tape Too?
Over two thirds of disk-only users look to add tape back into storage infrastructure according to recent survey.
Download Survey Information
Comment