There is a certain cadre in the environmental movement that would like nothing better than for the whole industrial world to plunge back into the 19th Century, where everyone farmed with mules and lit their homes with whale oil lamps. So it’s ironic that the current recession, rather than driving us backwards into a more environmentally pure state, seems to be threatening the development of some of the most cherished environmental technologies. Solar and wind power installations are down 30 to 50 percent, with attendant layoffs. And ethanol production is down 21 percent.
