Obama appoints carbon cap advocate

President Barack Obama has appointed General Electric's (GE) chief executive, Jeff Immelt - an advocate for carbon cap-and-trade - chairman of his panel of outside economic advisors, the newly branded Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, says Tech Crunch.

This council was formerly known as the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Immelt was a founding member, and takes the chairman reigns from Paul Volcker.

GE is one of the world's largest manufacturers of clean energy and related technologies. The company makes everything from large wind turbines, to electric vehicle charging stations, to lights and appliances.

Until now, Abu Dhabi has been known as the quiet powerhouse behind its flashier neighbour, Dubai, bankrolling record-breaking skyscrapers and fantastical island resorts intended to make the UAE synonymous with luxury, wealth and success, writes the LA Times.

But now Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, is looking to set a different kind of example. The Masdar development project, due to be completed in 2013, aims to be the world's first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city.

Nawal Al Hosany, associate director for sustainability at Masdar, said the project is "leading by example and is already being approached by other developers and government entities within Abu Dhabi for advice on how to be more sustainable".

Edward L. Glaeser, a professor of economics at Harvard University, argues that green energy, despite heavy government investment, cannot produce a large number of manufacturing jobs, according to Daily Freeman.

This has broad implications for the Mid-Hudson Valley effort by private and public officials to create a solar energy industry intended to create jobs. The occasion of Glaeser's statement was the announcement that Evergreen Solar would close its plant in Massachusetts, letting go 800 workers and moving production to China.

Glaeser argues that production will always be cheaper overseas and, thus, no new industry can produce high-paying industrial jobs in America. He also notes that the Evergreen Solar plant had received more than $40 million in government subsidies.