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An article in Barron's highlighted the problems the United States is facing in trying to move towards alternative energy.  The article suggested that investors looking to focus on alternative energy turn to China, not the United States.

The reason?  According to the article, the alternative energy market in the United States could take a decade to ramp up, but it's going full force in Asia.  Governments in Asia have already mandated that their power generators move to solar and wind, but the United States won't even attempt to do so until later this year.  And it's possible that since this is an election year, the cap and trade legislation that will spur the use of non-greenhouse gas emitting power sources will be kicked down the road until 2011.

That would mean that the gap between the United States and China, which is already the leader in solar and wind power, would only grow.  "China is the leader in solar and wind power and will surpass our installed base in two years," a spokesman for American Superconductor, which inked a contract to install turbines off China's shores, said.

According to American Superconductor, the United States lags far behind other nations in providing long term incentives.  The Obama administration provided the industry with $2.3 billion in green tax credits, but those were gone very quickly.  The administration is seeking an additional $5 billion in tax credits and is promoting them as a job creation tool.

The administration, according to the American Wind Energy Association, is at least taking steps to promote alternative energy.  Developers are putting together studies that show proposed wind farm sites off the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware.  And the Interior Department is requiring the National Park Service to determine quickly whether or not the waters off Nantucket Sound are going to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Actions like this caused the American Wind Energy Association to deem interior secretary Ken Salazar "our main champion."  However, while Salazar may be pushing the cause of wind energy, the United States is just starting to move forward while China is already putting up nearly three dozen windmills off its coast.

The United States needs to stop taking baby steps and move forward aggressively.  Green energy is not just an environmental issue, it's a national security issue.  We cannot allow the country that's going to be our biggest competitor to take too much of a lead in this field.

In a move that we've seen take place before -- most recently in the pharmaceutical industry -- a giant company decided to purchase a smaller company in order to acquire its assets.  In the pharmaceutical industry, that's generally done so that the acquiring company can get the drugs that the smaller company has in production or in development.

In today's merger, Exxon is acquiring XTO Energy in order to acquire its natural gas assets.  The deal, which is an all stock deal for $31 billion, would provide Exxon with access to XTO's natural gas reserves at a time when natural gas prices are low.

The combination of the worst downturn since the Great Depression and large discoveries of natural gas have left its producers facing difficulties in getting the capital needed to expand and develop their resources.  XTO took advantage of this, acquiring many other companies, but it piled on debt in the process.

But, it gained control of major portions of unconventional gas reserves, such as those that are trapped in shale rock.  XTO controls an estimated 45 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.  With its purchase, Exxon is making a bet that gas prices will recover.  Part of this may be due to pressure to reduce greenhouse gases, as natural gas releases far less of the gases that are responsible for climate change.

When even the world's biggest oil company decides it's time to add cleaner buring natural gas to its assets, the handwriting is on the wall.

That is the argument that Gary Locke, secretary of the Commerce Department, is making.  Business Week met with Locke at the Copenhagen climate change summit, and noted that at the first week of the summit, Locke is in the lead role for the United States.

Locke said that he was "struck by the great enthusiasm by the business leaders...for aggressive actions against climate change."  When it came to climate change legislation that's currently in Congress, he said, "a whole cross section of industry supports strong U.S. legislation."

Locke, who in addition to highlighting the benefits of a move towards more environmentally sound practices, has been highlighting the threats that climate change presents, also said "business can't survive if subjected to floods or droughts."

At the event, Locke asked a small South San Francisco company called EOS Climate, which destroys climate warming gases from old refrigerators, how many jobs have been created.  The answer, of course was lots of jobs.  But larger companies, such as General Electric and Johnson Controls also generate revenue and jobs from green technology.  General Electric is looking to benefit from a push towards greener technology by selling wind turbines, energy efficient locomotives, and technology to make the electric grid more efficient.

But Locke is also concerned that without significant investment in green technology, the United States "will wake up and ask how Brazil or Singapore, or others became the Silicon Valley of green energy."

Locke said that other countries, such as Spain and Germany, that have become leaders in green energy have done so because of regulations requiring utilities to pay a premium for energy generated from renewable sources.  China, he said, is pushing into wind and solar and has invested heavily in these technologies.

But the United States, he said, is hampered by a lack of a national policy on green energy.  "I've heard from so many companies and investors that they are sitting on the sidelines until the rules are clear," Locke said. "The longer we wait the further other countries will move ahead."

Not surprisingly, Locke closed his interview with a push for Congress to pass climate change legislation.  "That's why it's so important for Congress to pass energy legislation as quickly as possible," he said.