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Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google is a smart man.  I make this assessment not, as one would logically assume, based on Google’s success.  Rather, it is what I heard on NPR yesterday.  Schmidt makes a heck of an argument that is tough to assail.

No R&D spending?
His argument is about electricity.  Google is a big consumer of the stuff and Schmidt believes future wars (if not current ones) will be fought over it.  He asserts there has been almost no investment in our infrastructure in the past 20 or 30 years, leaving us vulnerable and with a system guaranteed to fail.  His solution?  Do something about it.

Two part plan
Google is doing two things to change things:

1. The first is a partnership with GE where the two giants will collaborate on new technologies to help the US become energy independent.  Moving away from what Schmidt refers to as “an old-style industrial model.”  GE will make the hardware and Google the software.
2. Part two is lobbying the US government.  Schmidt’s passion showed through as he spoke about this idea.  He believes the government should use its power and resources to solve this energy crisis.  Using the “engine” (Schmidt’s word) of the federal government to create alternatives will spur new job growth and have the end game of ending our oil dependency. 

Is he nuts?
Schmidt was asked if shareholders would follow Google down the proverbial rabbit hole.  He answered he believe they will; the thinking being if Google spends capital now, they will reap the benefits in the future, thereby create shareholder value.  And as any CEO will tell you, it is all about shareholder value.

To me, this runs true to Google’s don’t be evil mantra and could open some eyes, or even be adopted by a candidate looking to impress the tech sector.  Heck, they’ve got to talk about us sometime.

Read [NPR] and [Wired]