"3) we are very definitely not fixing these problems: the level of cleantech investment is tiny, etc."
KP has $600mil earmarked for green/cleantech. Sequoia has stated numerous times that they are actively looking for green/cleantech (McAdoo used the term "browntech" in his talk at Startup School but no one else seems to know what that means). These two are, admittedly, the top of the VC food chain, and they've been so successful by being ahead of the curve just a wee bit more than the rest of the industry. But, where they go, the rest of the industry will follow.
I think you're underestimating how much people in the valley are thinking about the big problems that they are able to solve--the global economy is a two stage process, involving both government (the largest degree, and something that startups can't have a notable effect on) and business (the big ones that already have clout...startups don't have the power to affect global economic change, though Google and Microsoft do to a degree). But energy is definitely getting attention in the valley. Virtualization is a huge and growing market, partly because it saves tremendously on power requirements in the data center, and lots of money and time is being spent on it. Batteries, boring old batteries, are getting funded.
I think the problem is that you're expecting software and hardware people to move into a completely different field. Sure, some really smart people are working on stuff that might not meet your definition of solving big problems...but if they switch gears to a completely different field (which most of your specified problems are) it'll take years for them to get up to speed on those subjects. Big problems take a lot of research and a lot of knowledge to solve. Most startup guys are not independently wealthy--they need to make their startup pay quickly or they have to go back to their cubicle at MegaCorp and solve even smaller problems and waste away wishing for what could have been.
But, as I mentioned, the money is flowing into energy related startups, and the rate of flow is increasing. Startups will follow the money.
Comments
"3) we are very definitely not fixing these problems: the level of cleantech investment is tiny, etc."
KP has $600mil earmarked for green/cleantech. Sequoia has stated numerous times that they are actively looking for green/cleantech (McAdoo used the term "browntech" in his talk at Startup School but no one else seems to know what that means). These two are, admittedly, the top of the VC food chain, and they've been so successful by being ahead of the curve just a wee bit more than the rest of the industry. But, where they go, the rest of the industry will follow.
I think you're underestimating how much people in the valley are thinking about the big problems that they are able to solve--the global economy is a two stage process, involving both government (the largest degree, and something that startups can't have a notable effect on) and business (the big ones that already have clout...startups don't have the power to affect global economic change, though Google and Microsoft do to a degree). But energy is definitely getting attention in the valley. Virtualization is a huge and growing market, partly because it saves tremendously on power requirements in the data center, and lots of money and time is being spent on it. Batteries, boring old batteries, are getting funded.
I think the problem is that you're expecting software and hardware people to move into a completely different field. Sure, some really smart people are working on stuff that might not meet your definition of solving big problems...but if they switch gears to a completely different field (which most of your specified problems are) it'll take years for them to get up to speed on those subjects. Big problems take a lot of research and a lot of knowledge to solve. Most startup guys are not independently wealthy--they need to make their startup pay quickly or they have to go back to their cubicle at MegaCorp and solve even smaller problems and waste away wishing for what could have been.
But, as I mentioned, the money is flowing into energy related startups, and the rate of flow is increasing. Startups will follow the money.
Browntech is energy technology that still has to do with fossil fuels, like clean burning coal or new ways of extracting oil from shale.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/16/technology/16venture.html