Morris notes several frightening parallels between today's green energy movement and that of the early 1980s, when environmentalist momentum from the Carter administration collapsed under the weight of the most wrenching recession since the Great Depression. We have witnessed a similarly sharp drop-off in green interest this fall as the financial crisis has deepened and gas prices have declined dramatically for consumers. But renewable energy industries are a much stronger political force now than they were in the 1980s, and the sheer efficiency of green projects will give the next president more bang for his outlay bucks than other programs, according to Morris. Environmentally conscious investments can sharply reduce operating costs, and create armies of new jobs in the process."