Green Venture Capital

The amount of money that venture capitalists risk on new ideas has been rising steadily over the last decade; however, it’s no surprise that with a worldwide recession, overall investment levels are dropping. A recent survey of 400 venture capitalists revealed that investment in life sciences and biotechnology will remain stable, but every other area will see decline — except clean technology, which will see a jump in investment. The chief reason that clean technology is the single investment bright spot is “government involvement,” as evidenced by the Obama administration’s funding of alternate energy sources. In most areas, the investors say that initial public offerings may not start appearing again before 2010, but that clean technology investment will begin to become evident this year. So, when the economy gets through these violent storms, will we find ourselves in seas that are calmer … and cleaner? Questions can be sent to Jim Parks at jrparks@mac.com. To find out more about Jim Parks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.