A historic blue-green union of interests between Democrats and clean energy “is already emerging, albeit in miniature form,” writes Ronald Brownstein in the National Journal. In the 2008 campaign, three-fourths of the alternative-energy industry’s contributions went to Democrats. True, that was just $1.9 million — chump change in Exxon terms — but Brownstein sees a long-term dynamic gathering momentum: “employment in the industry is trending toward blue (Democratic) states, partly because they are more likely to adopt the policies (renewable power requirements for utilities, for example) that nurture the industry.” Yet there is a potential fly in the non-petroleum-based ointment, writes Robert Gammon in the East Bay Express: liberal opposition to “smart growth” in cities. There’s a growing recognition that opposition to growth — in Berkeley and Oakland, for example — contributed to environmentally unfriendly suburban and exurban sprawl, and that “infill development” — dense urban housing near mass transit — is now the way to go.

By The New York Times. Read more