They have the power to stop multi-million solar installations in the Mojave Desert and shut down coal-powered factories for a day and sometimes forever. But celebrity clean tech investor Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems from Khosla Ventures, says that environmentalists, though with good intentions can “do more damage than they know.”
Unlike investors who put their money and sometimes reputation on the line, anyone can be an environmentalist. There is no degree or certification needed, and being one doesn’t come with any sort of risk. The opposite: self-purported environmentalists could enjoy a kind of status among peers and their community.
Maybe that’s why Khosla, at a recent clean tech conference in San Francisco throws some cautionary words towards the green movement.
“Environmentalists get in the way…and do more damage than they know,” said Vinod Khosla
at a recent TechCrunch Disrupt conference. Why? asks TechCrunch, a leading tech blog: Self-described environmentalists demand or adopt technology that sounds promising without a sense of its true cost or impact to the environment. “Painting your roof white is better for the environment than driving a Prius or similar vehicle,” Khosla pointed out.
Khosla Ventures recently joined joined Sigma Partners investing a $13.7 million round in PVTSolar, which a company that created technology for solar power generation for home and light commercial use. Earlier last week, Khosla Ventures company Amyris — makers of non-petroleum fuels and chemicals — raised $85 million through an initial public offering.
What stake do you have in the environment? Are you an investor/industrialist, an environmentalist, or are you looking for the middle ground?
::TechCrunch (for the whole talk with Khosla).
Or follow him on Twitter @vkhosla
Image via businessweek
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
