Venture Capital Goes Big for Green.

Kiplinger Business Forecasts, June, 2007

Byline: Matthew Mogul

For venture capitalists nowadays it's all about green -- green companies, that is. Seed money for environmental and clean energy firms is on course to double this year to $3 billion after more than doubling in 2006. Green investments will account for over $1 out of every $10 in venture capital investments, while green initial public offerings will surpass last year's $1.2 billion, which was more than triple the $370 million raised in IPOs in 2005.

The torrid pace brings back memories of the dot-com boom, when investors threw cash at anything even remotely related to the Internet, whether it was making money or not. The numbers tell the story: In 1997, investors put $2.5 billion into Internet start-ups. In 2000, investments...