clean energy and jobs

NYT, Does America Need Manufacturing?

If the battery stimulus ultimately succeeds, does it demonstrate that expanding the United States' economy only through knowledge and services is no longer a viable strategy? 「All of the great new American companies of the past few decades,」 says Suzanne Berger, a chairwoman of M.I.T.'s panel on the future of American manufacturing, 「have focused on research and development and product definition — Apple, Qualcomm, Cisco.」 These were technology companies that could take full advantage of what she calls the 「modularity」 of the global economy. Their genius resided in the design of their gadgets and information systems; offshoring the industrial work did not leave them at a disadvantage. It did the opposite, greatly reducing costs and raising profits. 「Now I think we're at a really different moment,」 Berger says. 「We're seeing a wave of new technologies, in energy, biotechnology, batteries, where there has to be a closer integration between research, development, design, product definition and production.」