Thoughtful writers like Thomas Friedman, Bob Herbert, and Paul Krugman are just a few of the high profile voices advancing the notion that clean energy technologies must play a key role in the American economy if the country is going to position itself to compete globally with China (among others).

They also convincingly make the case that pursuing a renewable energy strategy is a matter of national security. As the private and public sectors begin to move aggressively in this direction, the demand for land to accommodate the expansion of physical infrastructure required by clean energy project advocates becomes increasingly acute. In this sense, a green thread binds renewable energy production to brownfields development and, with each passing day, the twin drivers of a flattened global economy and America’s addiction to oil from petro-dictatorships makes the bind tighter and the relationship more intimate and necessary. ...

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