Its Economy in Shambles, the Midwest Goes Green.

[irishbobcat]

Its Economy in Shambles, the Midwest Goes Green. By Keith Schneider, YaleEnviro360, July 16, 2009. "Mariah Power, which exports most of its residential-scale windmills to Europe, is... one of the more than 30 clean energy manufacturers -- spanning wind, solar, geothermal, and the energy conservation and efficiency sectors -- that have established new production facilities in Michigan in the last 20 months, generating more than 3,000 new jobs. The new Mariah plant is emblematic of the gathering momentum of the clean-energy industrial sector, particularly in the Midwest, just as the House vote represented the sector's steadily mounting political strength. At the same time, though, the fact that Mariah just arrived this year in northern Michigan illustrates the Midwest's late recognition of the market opportunities in building the equipment to power the nation with alternative energy... No region of the United States better understands the potential wealth generated by commanding new markets -- and the consequences of failing to compete when they change. The Midwest, after all, invented the production practices, made the steel, supplied the vehicles, and manufactured the parts that produced America's energy-wasting, drive-through economy of the 20th century."