Al Gore: More Energy Efficiency, Smart Grids and Green Power

No one can miss the massive tidal wave of media articles by and about experts urging the incoming Obama administration to allocate big dollars towards clean energy and a “New Green Deal” for the American economy.

Here’s the Green Journey contribution to your collection –> Al Gore’s op-ed in today’s New York Times, laying out his recommendations on the exact sectors/areas of greatest opportunity for the new administration.

And the buzzwords for sustainable real estate developers, investors and community officials?

While we’re all pretty used to the big picture on climate change from Gore, here he’s making specific, bold suggestions that — if adopted — would accelerate green real estate and green communities beyond anything that we could have imagined:

• energy efficiency: he calls for direct government support of retrofitting existing buildings. See our other posts on what green real estate leaders are saying about the business case for energy efficiency retrofits.

• smart grids: $400 billion cost to build over 10 years vs. $120 billion per year losses to American businesses. A big price tag — that’s overshadowed by the cost of doing nothing.

• greatly increased solar and wind investment. He calls the current clean coal ideas “too imaginary to make a difference” and “lacking investment” to get off the ground.