We are currently experiencing a degree of financial mayhem that is way outside the normal margins. In every market downturn (and in this case, it's much more than a conventional downturn), there are ways to find opportunity, and I'm not talking about the fact that people who are flush with cash can start buying undervalued companies and then clean up financially when the economy turns around.

The opportunities that exist are for those who envision a new, greener world. A recent report prepared for the U.S. Conference of Mayors shows that our future is far from bleak, at least in terms of the green economy. The report, conducted by Global Insights, forecasts that more than 4.2 million green jobs could be created by 2038 if we make the decision to pursue this route. In other words, that's 10 percent of all new jobs over the next 30 years. This report pretty much echoes two other reports recently released by the Political Economy Research Institute and United Nations Environment Programme, which also indicate strong green job growth over the next decades.

Of course, the study also makes clear that for this job growth to be attainable, 40 percent of all energy generated in this country must come from alternate sources.

The importance of this data cannot be overstated. It underlines the fact that our need to move towards alternate sources of energy is not just important from an environmental point of view. It's coming down to the concept that our entire economic survival depends on it.

Jonathan A. Schein