Confessions of a money manager: See the light of solar stocks
Well, here we go again. Oil prices are now over $120 a barrel, and everyone, it seems, knows exactly what to do. Of course it depends on your perspective. If you're a member of Congress, you call for the umpteenth congressional hearing and harangue those rapacious, nasty oil executives. That's always good for a few votes. Unfortunately, such spectacles never amount to much.
If you're running for president, then you call for a moratorium on the 18.4 cent federal gasoline tax. Why, that would save consumers a whopping $35 or so this summer. If you're a motorist, you scream at the poor clerk at the PDQ citing our constitutional right to cheap gas. If you run a business you might travel less or start getting sticky on how much you spend on the slippery stuff.
However, if you're an environmentalist like UW Professor James B. Pawley, who teaches a course on global warming, you might be smiling. Higher prices are one of the answers to solving global warming issues. Pawley e-mailed me after my last article on this subject, "Global warming and the Einstein Effect," and chided me for trivializing global warming's impact on our planet. He offered to help me understand what's really happening.
Although Pawley and I disagree on some issues, we both agree that higher fossil fuel prices benefit the environment in two ways. First, as prices for carbon-based fuels go up, demand goes down -- less gas burned means lower carbon dioxide emissions. Second, higher fossil fuel prices keep investors pouring money into alternative energy development. One such source that Pawley is particularly excited about is solar. His most recent e-mail included two very interesting Web sites: Solar Developments (www.solardev.com/SEIA-makingelec.php) and Solar Paces (www.solarpaces.org).
Suffice it to say that the millions of dollars thrown into alternative energy development over the past few decades are now looking good. Solar has come a long way since as kids we used magnifying glasses to burn bits of tissue paper. Solar thermal electric power plants now generate thousands of megawatts that light and heat scores of homes. Such plants will eventually replace millions of barrels of oil in the process.
The emerging solar energy industry is rife with many new and exciting companies. But with so many entrants, there will be many winners and losers. Therefore, it makes sense to invest in mutual funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs) that specialize in this area. What follows is a brief listing of such funds that I found on such Web sites as www.altenergystocks.com. These are but a few of the alternative energy investment ideas we'll be highlighting in the future: Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy, Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy, New Alternatives Energy, Powershares Cleantech Portfolio and Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy.
As the three witches in "Macbeth" said: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air." That I think describes our current global warming dilemma; we're conflicted by what's "fair" and "foul," but we know we're dealing with "fog and filthy air." That means we need light -- solar -- to help us see through this energy mess.
Ray Unger is chairman of Forward Investment Advisors in Madison. He can be reached at 833-9400.
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