Government asked to lead on clean energy

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. government should take the lead in the introduction of clean energy into the U.S. economy, top business and public leaders said at a Las Vegas summit.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was one of those officials calling on the federal government to take a more active role in the development of clean energy sources during this week's National Clean Energy Summit at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday.

"The energy situation can't be solved by the private sector, by consumers and by state and local governments alone," the senator said during Tuesday's summit. "The federal government must be a lead actor in this energy drama."

Attendees suggested that by becoming an active member of the clean energy movement, the government would help reduce greenhouse gases and minimize the nation's ongoing reliance to foreign oil.

Google.org official Dan Reicher said that the costs associated with renewable energy projects are high in comparison with less environmentally friendly efforts, the newspaper said.

"These are all high capital costs projects," the director for the company's climate change and energy initiatives division said.