Introduction

CHINATOPIX, via Associated Press

Last week's finger wagging over the Obama administration's failed clean-energy investment in Solyndra, the solar company that filed for bankruptcy, contrasted with reporting this week on the oil industry's rush to develop new wells all over the Americas, from Canada to Colombia.

While China's rising demand for oil is a huge driver in the Latin American boom, the Chinese government is also providing huge subsidies to its green technology industries. In Europe, Germany is the world's first major renewable energy economy. The United States seems to be lagging in this competition.

Why is that, since the U.S. has often been the global innovator in emerging fields? What should the government be doing differently?