CALIFORNIA, Md. - Approaching Evergreen Elementary, it's clear right away that there's something different about this new school. A pair of silo-like structures squats in front of the two-story brick building - cisterns storing rainwater for flushing the toilets. Then there are the cactuses and other plants growing atop the entrance canopy - put there to soak up more rain.
As Congress debates climate and energy
legislation, Asian challengers are moving rapidly to win the
clean-energy race. China alone is reportedly investing $440 billion to
$660 billion in its clean-energy industries over 10 years. South Korea
is investing a full 2 percent of its gross domestic product in a Green
New Deal. And Japan is redoubling incentives for solar, aiming for a
20-fold expansion in installed solar energy by 2020.
