In the News
From the Director: What is the Green Economy?
Last week Arlington Economic Development released ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE GREEN ECONOMY: A Preliminary Investigation as a white paper background investigation of the “Green Economy.” The “green economy” has become the newest catch-phrase to grow out of the larger “green” movement in recent years. It has gained significant momentum as celebrities, Presidential campaigns and industry have clamored to support its ideals and its potential. But what does the “green economy” really mean? And what does its growth mean for our economy, given its possibilities of environmental improvements and job creation? The paper provides some perspectives on the structure and classification of green industries and green jobs. It also documents both new investment in “cleantech” technologies and alternative energy sources, demonstrating that we as a nation are making some progress but that we have a long way to go. The value of the report to our economic development staff is that it provides a context for looking at the green economy going forward.
Just like biotechnology a decade ago and nanotechnology several years later caused many local and state economic development agencies to develop a strategy for capturing the value and growth provided by the next new thing, the bandwagon for green economy strategies is rolling. AED’s next step is to develop our own strategy in the context of our current assets and growth potential. We will use the approach developed several years ago in Fostering Emerging Technology Sectors in Arlington, VA: An Economic Development Strategy for Knowledge Creation and Innovation to guide our strategy development.
The triangle of government, academia and private industry will provide the basis for connecting research, policy and commercialization for the growth of a green economy. Our strong research base is comprised of the National Science Foundation and Virginia Tech; our policy leaders include George Mason University plus an array of interest groups such as the Nature Conservancy and Conservation International; and our commercial base includes industry leaders such as AES, Gridpoint and NRECA. Building on these assets, Arlington will be able to set a course to become a national leader in niche elements of the green economy.
The third leg of the stool we are building is to measure the outcomes of our smart growth policies of many years against the yardstick of environmental and economic performance. AED is building an index of the “greenness” of development outcomes to test our effectiveness and credibility in the contest to prove that we are truly “green.”
Look for these latter two studies over the next several months as we continue to enhance the economic and environmental sustainability of Arlington.
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