Two Investments to Add to Your “Green” Portfolio

by Louise Harris, Investment U Research

Green investing can be tricky.

That was evidenced after oil prices dropped last year and alternative energy companies saw their profits fall just as quickly.

Naturally, investor enthusiasm followed, as green ETFs like Claymore/Mac Global Solar Energy Index (NYSE: TAN) and Market Vectors Solar Energy (NYSE: KWT) have tumbled 45% over the past 12 months.

Similarly, the broad alternative energy portfolio PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy (NYSE: PBW), has declined by an average of 13.5% annually for the last three years.

But despite those woes, the alternative energy sector still has a few things going for it…

Popularity: The more scientists talk about climate change and how to prevent greenhouse emissions, the more popular alternative energies become. This is especially true in Europe, ...

Carrier Corp., a division of United Technologies Corp. (UTX), acquired StrionAir, a producer of proprietary air purification systems employing patented "capture and kill" technology. StrionAir developed and patented advanced electronic filtration methods and products, including the sole whole-house air purifier in the market validated by third-party tests to capture and kill airborne germs, viruses and mold.

StrionAir has been the provider of Carrier's residential Infinity Air Purifier since 2006, and has also developed, marketed and sold over 6,000 commercial systems. StrionAir is headquartered in Louisville, Colorado and was founded in 1997.

This acquisition will enable Carrier to incorporate Infinity Air Purifier into its products as well as provide an opportunity for accelerated product development for both residential and commercial applications.

Carrier has consistently been the leader in developing energy-efficient, environmentally sound solutions in home and building comfort and indoor air quality. Carrier, headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, is the world's largest provider of

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Green: The Secret to Resurrecting Your Nest Egg in 2009. br /By Natalie Pace, author of a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593154917?ie=UTF8tag=antiquestocka-20linkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=1593154917″Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is: Investment Strategies for Lifetime Wealth from a #1 Wall Street Stock Picker/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=antiquestocka-20l=as2o=1a=1593154917″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” /br /Date: January 27, 2009br /br /Did you know that clean energy was the top performing industry in 2007, returning almost sixty cents on the dollar for investors? That was almost double the returns of the 2nd highest performing industry — oil and gas — at 32 cents for each dollar invested. And, thanks to President Obama’s American Reinvestment and Recovery Plan, clean energy is poised to be the top performer again in 2009. br /br /In his first White House blog, dated January 24, 2009, President Obama wrote that his Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will “invest in our most important …