In light of recent Earth Day celebrations, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about the U.S.’s trendy “green economy” and some potential investment opportunities that may emerge as alternative energy sources move to the forefront of industry.

There’s no denying it anymore: We see the world through green-colored glasses. Everything from news broadcasts, to Internet websites, to the big billboards we pass during our early morning commutes are tinted.

Companies are no exception. Product differentiation in an augmented marketplace is no longer exclusively related to a product’s functional characteristics. These days a business’s competitive advantage has a lot to do with which company’s halo shines the greenest.

Not too long ago I read an article in the International Herald Tribune that introduced a new hue to the already-recognized blue- and white-collar job classifications – the hue is green. Green-collar employees include the millions of potential workers that will install solar panels, weatherize homes, brew biofuels, build hybrid cars and erect giant wind turbines. Even U.S. presidential contenders talk about expanding the workforce to encompass green-collar employees.

But Americans aren’t the only ones seeing green. With China’s rapidly growing economy, the need for energy resources is growing at an alarming pace. This heightened demand for oil is keeping an upward pressure on prices, and the long-overdue relief can only come in an alternative energy form. It’s only a matter of time before the Chinese jump onto the green bandwagon and begin making a conscientious effort to “fix” their environmental problems.

The eco-conscious Europeans – with their innovative wind turbine technology and nuclear energy plants – have been switching back to coal because, after all, it’s cheap, and coal reserves will last for 200 years, rather than 50 like natural gas and oil. But this ten-steps-back approach the Europeans are desperately clinging to is sowing real alarm among the world’s leading climate experts.  Even the so-called “clean coal” – a term coined decades ago by the industry – will cause more harm than good, especially when it comes to reducing the continent’s carbon emissions.

This is not a reality the Europeans are taking lightly. After all, environmentalism in Europe is way beyond fad and for good reason: It’s crowded there. Very crowded. The last thing anyone on the other side of the Atlantic wants is to do is clog up the atmosphere with toxic particulate matter. Especially the Germans!

By the end of the 1990s, Germany dominated the renewable-energy scene. With fewer wind and solar resources than the U.S., Germany now has three times as much installed wind capacity, constituting over 38% of the global picture. It has now established a multi-billion dollar industry and tens of thousand of new jobs. Germany’s wind industry employment rate has usurped that of nuclear power, simultaneously suppressing electricity costs.
The largest maker of wind turbines, located in Copenhagen, forecasted 25% sales growth for 2008. Its earnings doubled last quarter, closing out 2007 with a bang.

Don’t think I let this opportunity slip past my Emerging Growth subscribers. In short, this Denmark-based company didn’t have the capacity to put up wind turbines quickly enough: There was a $2 billion backlog!

These turbines need very special cranes and booms to hoist them and there’s only one place that they’re made: Manitowoc, Wisconsin. A few months ago, Manitowoc Co. (MTW) posted a 65 cent per share profit, up from 41 cents the preceding year. PortfolioGrader Pro rated it as an A-stock then, and it continues to rate it as such now.

This company’s market performance goes hand in hand with wavering oil prices and a weakening dollar. A few months ago when oil hovered around $100 a barrel and the dollar’s worth was equal to 45 euro cents, MTW soared.

Be that as it may, the further rise and irresolute fluctuations in oil prices have slightly brought down the company’s stock from its December 2007 highs. In general, shares of machinery stocks close down when oil prices are so inflated.

Have no fear, my fellow investors, MTW’s fundamentals are solid. As long as the demand for renewable energy continues abroad, Manitowoc’s stock will advance to higher ground.

But let’s not kid ourselves. A few paragraphs ago I discussed briefly that even the eco-friendly Europeans are reverting to their dirty, old-energy ways as a last ditch effort to combat the rising price of oil. Let’s face it: Desperate times call for desperate measures. The green-colored glasses of a forward-thinking mentality have cracked under pressure, and, subsequently, been placed on the nightstand.

So, how can we profit from this context? Well, for the time being we’re primarily invested in the trend of old: Oil. CNOOC (CEO), an oil and gas exploration and production company in China, is performing pleasingly well for our Global Growth buy list, up 21.5%, as is Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR), or Petrobras, our Brazilian oil exporter, up 11.2%.

There’s no denying it: Oil is a profitable industry. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t left room for new, greener and cleaner energy companies. In the upcoming issue of Emerging Growth (to be released on Friday, April 25) I’m recommending a waste-to-energy company that actually creates power from garbage. The stock is up over 22% in just the last three months and I expect this run to continue. Be the first to get in on this new buy—become an Emerging Growth member today.