For years, conventional wisdom has held that environmental laws and restrictions cause job declines and stifle growth... making some wonder if they are truly the wave of the future. Now, a study by a VC group called Creating the California Cleantech Cluster is showing that VC interest in environmentally-friendly products and services is growing, leading them into the mainstream, and with them, dollars and jobs. In 2003, California received a record $339 million in "green" VC investment. If investment stays on track, it could lead to between 50,000 and 110,000 jobs, and up to $25 billion in annual revenue in California alone. Other states are also looking at "clean" clusters to grow green businesses, so this will surely be looked to as a model and a barometer of success.
Meanwhile, an article in Wired states that Nova Scotia is saving anywhere from $25 million to $125 million every year by recycling... contrary to beliefs that recycling efforts cost more than traditional landfilling. Nova Scotia is a world leader in recycling, with a recycling rate approaching 50% of its total waste. Recycling plants have also created jobs in the Canadian province. The data comes from a Canadian research group called GPI Atlantic, which specializes in conducting research using hard-to-measure metrics.
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