In Washington DC today, an Earth Day festival on the National Mall was almost rained out by heavy thunderstorms, leaving many concert-goers dripping from head to toe.

The concerts may be over, but Earth Day is not actually until Tuesday. The Washington Post featured a number of editorials giving opposing views on the cost and viability of solar power and other alternative energies. Many of these are aimed at supporting or debunking the claims of various interest groups that plan to introduce new legislation this week aimed at limiting U.S. carbon emissions.

That’s a fine goal in its own right, but in the long term we need to restructure our approach to serving the world’s energy needs. In debating the finer points of legislation it is too easy to forget the role that technological innovation can play in problem solving. It is difficult to predict which technologies will win the day, but encouraging green-tech investment now could have a payoff much larger than we can image. There is a bewildering array of research underway, ranging from growing bio-diesel fuel from algae to replacing cell phone batteries with water-powered fuel cells.

As these examples suggest, there probably will not be one single replacement for traditional energy sources, but rather a whole variety of approaches that together will help to reduce our impact on the environment. One thing that is almost certain, however: we are not spending nearly enough on green tech investment.

On that note, here are some ideas for using your dollar to promote green investment:
- Calculate your carbon footprint and buy carbon offsets.
- Consider mutual funds or ETFs that track “green” companies or alternative energies.
- Buy a hybrid car (and no, not the SUV variety, which takes a lot more steel to produce).

If you have any other suggestions, please let us know in the comments.