Will clean energy spending escape the bottom of the list?

Blogger Andy Revkin observes that the federal defense expenditures for research and development practically dwarf all non-defense spending, let alone those dollars going to investment in clean energy. “What might happen if a president sought not to shrink the military research pie, but simply devote more of it to transformational technologies related to harvesting, storing, or moving energy?” he wonders.
 
He draws the important distinction between research and development dollars, noting that the political tendency is to pour money into development, while most innovations and breakthroughs occur in the research phase. Research builds a strong foundation of intellectual capital. What will it take to mobilize that capital for greener energy? Full story: The New York Times