Co-Founder, US Renewables Grup
Founder and Managing Partner of venture-capital investors Rustic Canyon Partners, and one of the founders of US Renewables Group, the largest West Coast, private-equity investor in renewable resources and clean fuels
PROFILE
Tom Unterman
Guest
FROM Tom Unterman
To the Point
Will Plummeting Oil Prices Cause a Clean-Energy Meltdown? Both John McCain and Barack Obama say America needs renewable energy—wind, solar, nuclear and "clean coal" as opposed to oil and natural gas. When the price of oil was rising, those alternative technologies were attracting needed investment. But oil now costs half what it did just a few weeks ago. Added to that, the credit crisis is drying up capital and green-energy projects that looked promising are being put on hold. What about energy independence and global warming? Does government have the resources to take up the slack? Are renewables really the answer to the world's energy problems?
To the Point
Climate Change: International Challenge and Business Opportunity Receiving the Nobel Prize today, Al Gore warned that failure to act against global warming will mean "mutually assured destruction." He had strong words for the US and China, two of the 190 nations meeting in Bali to hash out guidelines for a new treaty for reducing greenhouse gases. With a turnabout by Australia's newly elected prime minister, the United States is the only industrialized nation opposed to setting mandatory reductions of greenhouse gases. The Bush Administration backs private sector initiatives for energy savings and alternative energy sources. In Los Angeles, there's a meeting of entrepreneurs, manufacturers and investors who see climate change not just as a challenge, but an opportunity. What are they doing to reverse climate change and cope with a process that's already well under way? Can LA and other cities cash in on a new international industry created by global warming?
Recommended
To the Point
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?