Yesterday's presidential election meant a great deal to a great many for a great number of reasons. There are countless issues that divide Americans today, but there is one that should unite the masses: the need for innovative clean energy technologies.
The roughly $90 billion investment in the alternative energy industry from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act came up more than a few times in this campaign cycle. Both candidates advocated the importance of advancing this industry, though Governor Mitt Romney said that $90 billion was too high and that much of that money could be used elsewhere to aid the economic recovery.
President Barack Obama – who won another four years as commander-in-chief late last night – defended his decision to invest so heavily in the clean energy sector, arguing that it helped create thousands of jobs while benefiting the global environment.
Both political parties are dedicated to the betterment of the nation. They just have different ideas about how to reach the same goal. But, what we now know going forward is that federal funding for solar, wind and other alternative energy technologies will not be cut any time soon.
Yesterday, in an article for GigaOM, Katie Fehrenbacher reflected on the past, present and future of this forward-thinking industry.
She said that there exists "a chance of survival for next-gen energy innovators and startups, which have had an extremely difficult past 18 months. Many of them will now at least continue to have an opportunity to compete on their merits … I think cleantech will soon start turning a corner."
From cutting-edge solar panel construction to the bonding of battery terminals for new environmentally friendly vehicles, clean energy technologies are poised to make major breakthroughs in the next few years.