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Google Steps Up

Not everyone understands the notion that fossil fuels are running out. In what seems to have been a political campaign for the last several years with each side citing their experts against the other's experts, I think the controversy is now diminishing and reality is sitting in.

Not everyone understands the notion that fossil fuels are running out. In what seems to have been a political campaign for the last several years with each side citing their experts against the other's experts, I think the controversy is now diminishing and reality is sitting in.Google.org has committed $10 million to eSolar. eSolar specializes in solar-thermal. Solar thermal generates heat, unlike solar PV (photovoltaics), which directly generates electricity. According to the Financial Times, Google.org is dedicating 1% equity along with 1% of profits to philanthropic efforts.

During the past several years, we've struggled over alternative energy. We made one of those life-changing decisions, and while it wasn't to the tune of $10 million, it was a substantial investment representing more than what many homeowners or businesses would accept.

The facts are sobering, when considering generating your own thermal heat to create steam to drive turbines to create electricity, or to keep the water hot. These efforts really won't net Google or my household a foreseeable return on investment. The Federal tax incentive along with the State grant monies pale beside the investment out of my pocket. I can imagine how executives at Google feel but I can't help but want to conclude that they think they are doing the right thing for other reasons. as cited in the national energy policy.

California faces a huge energy problem, which suggests IT has an equal share of the energy burden including Google. Reducing carbon or CO2, greening our planet or getting off of foreign oil- whichever argument or cause you choose, is an act of doing what's right and I'll go on to add that it's my passion, leading me to act. The business side of me still struggles with the economics of this as "an investment." Google's investment is a matter of protecting their revenue, which isn't a bad thing.

One would reasonably think that dollar for dollar investment into alternative energy by anyone would be welcomed with dollar for dollar tax incentives instead of these lame and undermining calculations of futility that our State and Federal governments put us through. The current national energy policy, in place since 2001, supports status quo, and one would reasonably conclude that dollar for dollar investment by anyone, would reap dollar for dollar tax incentives. Instead, these problems extend decades of government mismanagement with an ingrained myopic view on how to gain and protect tax revenues over and over instead of how to solve global problems and gain competitive advantages for our country.

We're not stopping with solar thermal and maybe it will ring true that I too have more money than brains, but at least I'll not need to cut back on hot showers and just maybe investing today will prove prudent tomorrow. For companies acting like Google, stepping up sets an example to follow for the years of expected turbulent energy demands ahead of us.