Why Immigrants Can Drive the Green Economy

The 2000 US Census found that immigrants, while accounting for 12 percent of the population, made up nearly half of the all scientists and engineers with doctorate degrees. Nearly 70 percent of the men and women who entered the fields of science and engineering from 1995 to 2006 were immigrants. Yet, the connection between immigration and the development and commercialization of alternative energy technology is rarely discussed.

Richard T. Herman and Robert L. Smith explain how policymakers envision millions of new jobs as the USA pursues renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, and hightlight the voices that warn that much of the clean-technology talent lies overseas in nations that began pursuing alternative energy sources decades ago.

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