The Hope and Hype (and Money) of Cleaner, Greener Tech Solutions

Steve Scher
01/09/2009 at 9:00 a.m.

Going green is the future. Millions, even billions of dollars are being spent on developing novel ideas to solve problems in energy, transportation, manufacturing and consumption. They call it "clean tech." And where do we begin to study this trend? Where we are often admonished to begin — by following the money. Today, we go to the root of the money: venture capitalists. Why are they chasing the promise of clean tech so fervently? And how is the economic downturn changing things?

Guest(s)

Gerry Langeler is a partner at OVP Venture Partners, a Northwest firm that invests in start–up companies including clean tech firms.

Andy Dale is a partner at Burke Dale Victor, LLC and also co–founded its fund management business. He has been an entrepreneur, venture capitalist and investment banker for over 15 years. He currently serves on the board of nine companies, including HaloSource.

John Kaestle is the CEO of HaloSource. The company is based in Bothell, Washington, and works on antimicrobial research, as well as treating drinking and industrial water.

John Cook is executive editor of Techflash, a blog that tracks tech news in the Northwest. He also wrote the venture capital blog for the Seattle P.I.

Kate Galbraith is a journalist for Green Inc., the New York Times's blog on green business. She previously was the Southwest correspondent for The Economist and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard.