In the Commodities Corner of Marketwatch, journalist Myra P. Saefong has shown today that the strategy is working. Seeking to “cut back on exploration and postpone new projects is finally starting to show signs of success as demand for the commodity begins to improve,” which is good news for both the industry and for the general health of the energy markets.

I think natural gas will be a huge place of growth while we wait for solar, wind, and other alternative energy forms to gain a foothold in the global market. Until then, it’s certainly the more sustainable option, and is already used in millions of homes the world over.

At the same time, this shift in production should be a good thing over the long term, saving resources for when they are more urgently needed in the future. According to Ben Smith of First Enercast Financial, an information vendor catering to energy markets, ” Today, there are half the rigs searching for natural gas in the U.S. than there were last year,” a trend which is sure to continue until prices regain their old levels.

[image via Mountain Madman]

At a time when our country’s economy is struggling to find innovation and get consumers spending again, it’s these same small businesses that we need to rely upon to provide the necessary boost. In an attempt to remain open and continue serving as a valuable community resource, many of these centers have themselves needed to innovate, diversifying their funding efforts and looking for new ways to bring corporations and banks on board.

Given that there is little to no return on investment for providing such backing, these centers have to add value to these business relationships through other means. Whether that takes the form of branded sponsorship, shared community support (in the form of volunteering etc.), opensource collaboration or some other form, I think this could present a real opportunity to rethink the role of these centers not only within the business community, but the community at large as well.

[image via wonderlane]

Spot.us funds citizen journalism, SellABand allows fans to help out their favorite musicians and Contenture allows sites to monetize their web traffic, three interesting ventures that enable potentially innovative ideas the chance to reach a much wider audience. And while these models are no guarantee of success, given the small cost of participation, they also carry very little to no expectations either. This is because none of them are built with any returns in mind, making them essentially donations as opposed to actual investments, but the possibility of adding that component exists. Which could create an interesting subculture around micro-investments.

While the likelihood that it would ever replace the venture capital system is extremely small, considering the significant amounts traditional startups need to raise, this doesn’t mean it couldn’t have its place, particularly on a local level. It simply requires developing the proper risk/reward structure and determining what kind of oversight (if any) would-be investors would have. Entrepreneurs are by their very nature resourceful so I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a model along these lines released sometime soon.

[image via Library of Congress]

The pair explain what’s at stake by noting that each year, energy expenditures in the US cost more than $1 trillion. Compare that with the $250 billion are government spends in funding research and development in this space and we’re able to see the huge disparity in terms of short term remedies – importing energy from afar – versus the kind of long term fixes required – promoting homegrown innovation.

In order to reverse this trend, they argue that fundamental change is needed in our country’s approach and policies, one that begins with a signal from our government that clean energy is valuable. As we see at every level, the way to accomplish this is by monetizing the intangibles, namely putting a price on carbon. By then following this up with a cap on emissions that grows steadily stronger over time and the country is presented with a solution that leaves little room for anything but greater efficiencies.

And while private industry – from corporations to entrepreneurs – will have to improve or be left behind, the government needs to show its support by backing their efforts with better incentive programs. This is especially important for America’s utilities, which are positioned as the driving force of the country’s infrastructure and able to innovation on a large-scale. This means they will potentially face greater challenges from the outset, if they’re smart about how they leverage the pre-existing energy grid, the benefits will be enormous.

As important as it is to approach these solutions on the home front, Doerr and Immelt point to the necessity for the US to once again assert itself as a big player in the global marketplace by creating a robust trade policy with other nations. This not only benefits our economy, but shifts the planet from a diet of dwindling resources to a feast of renewable energy with America once again leading the way.

Outside of Caspar, Wyoming, the site of a former Rocky Mountain Power coal mine that was no longer economically viable has been converted into a 158-turbine wind farm that produces 237 megawatts of power, enough electricity for 66,800 households for a year.

As CNET reports “Full-scale final reclamation efforts to restore the nearly 9-mile long stretch of land affected by mining began in 1999 and were completed in 2005. Mountains of dirt were moved, miles of land reseeded with native vegetation and major contouring performed in order to return the landscape to its pre-mining appearance. More than 85 million yards of earth were moved to accomplish this feat.”

And while a project like this is no small undertaking, both in terms of time and money (one wind turbine alone costs roughly $2 million), given that the company already owned the land and had much of the necessary infrastructure in place, the long-term prospects made sense. Factor in the improved design  - specialists arranged the farm in an array that maximizes output – and technology – turbines are now electronically controlled to “track” the wind – and traditional power companies are being to see the value in clean energy.

Meanwhile in Holmdel, New Jersey, Somerset Development is attempting to gain approvals so that they can move forward with plans to convert an abandoned office park into a community of lofts and stores. The building and campus seem to be prime candidates for such an endeavor, given their unusual pedigree – designed by renowned Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and served as former home to Bell Labs, known for its pioneering work on transistors and cell phones.

Fast Company explains the important precedent such a project could set, “If the conversion goes through it could serve as a model for the conversation of aging and abandoned surburban offices across the country. And as preservationist and architectural historian Nina Rappaport notes,”[the] key to the project is how to retrofit the building into an era that requires sustainable new systems,” representing an unique opportunity for Somerset to be seen as a leader in this specialized (but growing) industry.