Topic: CXO

John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation

Summary: Kleiner Perkins VC John Doerr discusses his views on clean tech at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. "The most important thing" that President-elect Barack Obama needs to do, he says, is "kick-start a huge amount of innovation and research in energy." He adds, "It's the challenge for the generation, it's the scourge of the economy."

November 6, 2008 -- 17:11 GMT (09:11 PST)

Topics: CXO, Browser, Emerging Tech

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19 comments

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I agree completely

The only way we going to switch to green energy is if the government supports it. If the power companies and the public don't have an incentive to try any harder, more than likely, they're not going to try any harder. Look at how most people spend money on cars. The only reason most people are looking at things like a Toyota Prius instead of SUV's today, is because of rising gas prices. And the only solution Bush and McCain had for rising gas prices, was to allow the oil companies to drill anywhere they wanted.

Right now, we spend more money trying to find E.T. and sending idiots to Mars than we do trying to save our own planet. If we don't start funding alternative energy, we aren't going to be around to see anyone go explore space. God, let Obama start leading a change in all of this!

Crash2100
7 November, 2008 18:12

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- Clueless
 
 "if the power companies and public don't have an incentive"... so you believe the President should give them incentive... so you believe in social engineering, you oppose individual liberty, and you oppose both capitalism and Darwinism. That's what youre saying when you want to force other people to adopt your "green" fantasy.
 
 Half the innovations we enjoy as staples today were caused by the space program's research. Perhaps we can learn from Mars something that can help our own planet. If it weren't for space exploration, we wouldn't know that there are oceans of petrochemicals on the moon Titan. And innovation doesn't come from people who pooh-pooh exploration and creative thinking.
 
 If we adopt 'alternative energy' we won't be ABLE to explore space, or even enjoy the standard of living we enjoy today. And only maniacs would want to tinker with the Earth's various climates without really understanding them.
 
 Bush and McCain were liberals, not much better than Obama. But conservatives want to drill where the oil is, go figure. They also want to build nuclear power plants, mine coal, utilize natural gas, to consider wind and solar (including solar power satellites), river current power, ocean thermal, and any number of other "hard", non-new-age technologies. Not because they make us feel warm-and-fuzzy, and not because they are so good for mommy Earth, but because there might be money in it. which means a better standard of living for us and our families.
 
 hiraghm@...
 12 November, 2008 11:26
 
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 - You're right
 
 You picked the perfect title for your message "clueless", and yes your comment was "clueless".
 
 So it's better to get innovations at random by sending fools to mars, instead of investing money straight into innovations that are needed by everyone on the planet? And since we all now know that "there are oceans of petrochemicals on the moon Titan", how does that improve anything for anyone here?
 
 The way I look at all of this is that life goes on, it's just whether or not humanity can survive its own stupid mistakes. Mistakes made by idiots like you.
 
 Crash2100
 12 November, 2008 21:06
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 There are a dizzying array of cleantech companies tackling myriad challenges of home energy management, but 15 of them just got a pretty good thumbs-up from giant technology company GE and a few of its close venture capital<a href="http://www.danggiavn.com/"> about it</a> is bank that <a href="http://www.greenseatview.com/">website</a> attacked from the <a href="http://www.skolaslikanjaatris.com/">site support</a> from any soldier <a href="http://clevelandisaplum.com/">site</a> to the light <a href="http://emergentmatt.com/">home page</a> is great partners.
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:26
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 There are actually two groups of companies that were recognized today.
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:26
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 The first set, 10 in all, have snagged $63 million in venture capital from GE and several venture capital partners that back the
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:26
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 company?s GE Ecoimagination Challenge series. (Over the course of the year, GE and its VC partners
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:27
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 have given out $134 million through the different contests.) This particular contest was all about
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:27
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 ?Powering the Home,? and there were apparently nearly 5,000 submissions. Here are the 10
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:27
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 companies that wound up claiming venture capital (listed in alphabetical order
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:27
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 Ember: This Boston-based technology develops low-powered, ZigBee-compliant chips that will find a home in smart meters and other sensor technologies that relate to the smart grid.
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:27
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 GMZ Energy: Based in Waltham, Mass., the company is working on ThermoVoltaics, a technology for transforming waste heat into electricity.
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:28
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 Hara: One of several winners that I know, actually. This is a San Mateo, Calif.-based developer of software for carbon and energy management
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:28
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 Nuventix: Everyone loves LEDs. This company from Austin, Texas, is working on technology to help keep them cool in lighting applications.
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:28
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 Finally, on Friday we watched Boeing mimic Airbus biofuels blowout, checked out a way to keep hackers away from your implants, transformed carbon into gasoline, regulated sunscreen more strictly, wondered what beef Texas has with green light bulbs and read about a tremendous plan for Los Angeles transit. Plus, a way to feel e-commerce goods, non-invasive body monitoring tech and artificial memory implants become<a href="http://ipadbagblog.com/"> ipad bag blog</a> of best <a href="http://www.sutudeg.org/">sutudeg community</a> the modern <a href="http://wposfv.com/">education news</a> and country reality.
 
 Linux Love
 27 June, 2011 00:30
 
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RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation

I disagree completely.

How can Obama kick start 'a huge amount of innovation"? Sit on his hands. Let the free market deal with it. If there's any merit to a technology, it will rise to the fore. You can't have innovation on command.

Personally, I've banned the word "green" from my volcabulary. If you want innovation and research into anything, stuff the ecophreaks in a bag and drop it in the oceans. You can't have real innovation and research when man-hating, Earth-worshipping fanatics can shut down any innovation or research that threatens their view of Earth as a garden (and man as the serpent).

hiraghm@...
12 November, 2008 11:16

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- I disagree with your disagreement
 
 The Free Market hasn't shown itself to be omniscient lately.
 
 The Free Market was supposed to regulate the economy, right?
 Didn't stand up to the temptations of greed and deregulation.
 
 What people for the Free Market don't realize, is that it's a form of
 evolution. And evolution requires lots of time, and thousands of
 'fairly good' ideas to die off just so one 'better' idea will survive.
 
 However, the X-Prize, offering companies a shot at prize money
 for innovation, DOES work.
 
 If Obama sponsors an X-Prize, for energy innovation, we will see
 sudden enthusiasm the likes of which came with the Apollo
 program.
 
 One thing that doesn't require innovation is Concentrating Solar
 Power plants in the Southwest. There are ten of them in operation
 already.
 
 If Obama offered tax amnesty to any company producing 50
 megawatts of renewable electricity per year for two years in a row,
 we'd see an explosion of CSP plants.
 
 That electricity can be stored by electrolyzing water for hydrogen,
 or by smelting aluminum with the power.
 
 Both Hydrogen and aluminum can be used later for energy.
 
 Jkirk3279
 21 November, 2008 11:11
 
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 - RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation
 
 @Jkirk3279 However, the X-Prize, offering companies a shot at prize money </a><a href="http://www.revivalymaske.com/">pembe maske</a> </a><a href="http://www.energybalancebileklik.com/">energy balance</a> </a><a href="http://www.oynaoyunu.com/">oyna oyunu</a> </a><a href="http://www.moliva.web.tr/">moliva</a> </a><a href="http://www.orjinkrem.net/">orjin krem</a> </a><a href="http://www.tutunesun.web.tr/">tutune son</a></a><a href="http://www.nanomatik.gen.tr/">nanomatik</a> </a><a href="http://www.complex41.net/">complex 41</a>for innovation, DOES work. If Obama sponsors an X-Prize, for energy innovation, we will see sudden enthusiasm the likes of which came with the Apollo program. One thing that doesn't require innovation is Concentrating Solar Power plants in the Southwest. There are ten of them in operation already. If Obama offered tax amnesty to any company producing 50 megawatts of renewable electricity per year for two years in a row, we'd see an explosion of CSP plants. That electricity can be stored by electrolyzing water for hydrogen, or by smelting aluminum with the power. Both Hydrogen and aluminum can be used later for energy.
 
 gaberdiye03
 21 June, 2011 03:46
 
 Reply Vote
RE: John Doerr: How Obama can kick start 'green' innovation

If Obama offered tax amnesty to any company producing 50 megawatts of renewable electricity per year for two years in a row, we'd see an explosion of CSP plants.<a href="http://www.short-domain-names.com/"> m</a><a href="http://ipadbagblog.com/"> k</a><a href="http://www.sutudeg.org/"> l</a>

edward polling
6 June, 2011 09:54

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