Okay. Let's say you're an entrepreneur who's looking for the NEXT BIG THING -- where will you focus your time, money, and energy? Consider following the lead of Chinese business, which is going green in a very big way. You see, regardless of whether or not you believe in global warming -- much less the reasons that it may or may not actually exist -- Chinese entrepreneurs have seen the future of business, and it's a very green future indeed.

According to a recent New Yorker article, in 2003 there was virtually no solar industry in China. Just five years later -- in 2008 -- China was making more solar cells than any other country, including the United States. Ten years ago, Japan was the world's leader in the design and production of lithium-ion batteries, commonly used in laptop computers. However, in 1998 the Chinese government decided that it would invest in the technology, hoping to catch up with and eventually pass by the Japanese. After investing millions of dollars in lithium-ion battery start ups, China is poised to do just that -- not just creating a highly successful new lithium-ion battery industry where once none existed, but also creating spinoff industries such as electric vehicles.

When Coda Automotive of Santa Monica, California started shopping for a battery manufacturer for its upcoming electric car, it couldn't find a U.S.-based manufacturer that offered the optimum mix of technology leadership and low cost. It therefore paired up with Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock Company in China.

Why?

There are unlimited opportunities for U.S.-based companies to get on board the green bandwagon -- and to make a lot of money in the process. Instead of ceding the future of American clean-energy technology to the Chinese -- or any other country, for that matter -- we should be leading it. We can, but we must start investing now. There's not a moment to waste.