Earth Day Profits – How You Can Make Money from Saving the Environment

How many stories have you heard about big business ruining the environment?  Of course the ones that stand out most in our minds are those that effect humans, like A Civil Action or Erin Brockovich, but there are countless other documented examples of corporations making a buck at the expense of nature.

The good news for Mother Nature is that there are now some businesses on her side.  With Earth Day only days away, you can not only be encouraged by this development, but also potentially profit from it.

Economic Opportunity?
An article on the Motley Fool website about cleantech quotes venture capitalist John Doerr referring to cleantech as

“the biggest economic opportunity of this century”

Of course that’s just one venture capitalist’s belief but according to the article he’s been around the block and made some good early calls on technology stocks.

With the need for sustainable energy growing each year, it makes sense that companies that meet that demand will profit from it.  The article talks about companies such as EnerNOC, Comverge, Trina Solar, Akeena Solar, and Canadian Solar as cleantech options. It also mentions bigger companies like GE and an ETF, the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy.

Current Cleantech
One place you can stay up to date on cleantech developments is the CleantechBlog.  The site offers periodic updates on sustainable energy stocks and also features promising “green” products such as:

• Biokleen All Purpose Spray and Wipe Cleaner
• Tesla Roadster
• EarthLED CL-3 LED light bulb
• Keetsa eco-friendly mattresses
• Eco Touch Waterless Car Care
• The Freshaire Choice Paint
• Vectrix Electric Maxi-Scooter

Risks of New Technology
Of course some of the newer “environmental” technologies that cleantech companies come up with aren’t proven so investing your money into them is a risk.  It’s kind of similar to how the tech companies were hot in the 90’s.  A lot of them crashed and burned but some of them really took off and made investors a pile of money.

Make a Difference – Invest
On this upcoming Earth Day, one of the small ways you can contribute is to take a look at investing in cleantech.  With the government in a budget mess, many bureaucrats are looking to the innovation of private industry to find clean/sustainable energy technologies.  Of course the million dollar question is, which one(s) to invest in ……

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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