Capitalists put their money where their mouth isn’t: green technology

If carbon cap & trade is going to be such a disaster for the economy, as conservatives would have us believe, why are America’s capitalists pouring money into clean energy and other green technologies?
And if Obama’s green stimulus package was such a disaster for the country, as conservatives would have us believe, why are those capitalists focusing their investments in the very sectors and companies that were most stimulated by that stimulus?
Two analyses released today of venture capital found that investment in the green sector has almost returned to pre-recession levels, although investment in other sectors and overall investment continues to lag. American investors are betting on the technologies that stand to gain the most from the climate bill introduced in the Senate today and from the stimulus bill passed in January.
One study concluded that green technology is the leading sector for venture capital. And it was also reported today that two-thirds of green technology investment worldwide comes from American investors.
Should we believe what the capitalists say with their mouths or with their money?
Green technology attracted the largest share of venture capital in the third quarter with global investments rising to $1.59 billion, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte.
That’s a 10% increase from the second quarter but still down 42% from the same period last year.
Dallas Kachan, managing director of the Cleantech Group, said the third-quarter numbers are preliminary and he expects total investment to have risen by 15% to 20% when the final figures are calculated.
“Clean tech continues its recovery despite the lowest level of venture capital investment overall since 1997,” said Kachan. “Clean tech has gone from a niche category to 27% of all venture investment. It eclipses the amount being currently invested in biotech and software.”
via Green technology tops venture capital funding | Los Angeles Times.