Flip through the foreclosures listings http://www.tribunehomefinder.com/page/foreclosures/ if you want a sobering read on the shape of the Valley’s economy where it touches real people.
While the demos in my zip run the gambit I saw one home in foreclosure with an outstanding mortgage of $1 million. That’s unfathomable to me.
Another story that hit close to home was in Thursday’s Tribune and reported that grocery prices rose by 7 percent in 2007. We all know that trend is alive and well in 2008.
But keep your eye out for the silver linings.
A couple of them were on the same page in Thursday’s Trib. NASA’s has awarded a $170 million contract to Orbital Sciences in Chandler, and another $133 million is headed to Boeing in Mesa for 12 Apache helicopters.
Aerospace and defense have been key components of the Valley’s economy for some time; so maybe we shouldn’t get too excited.
But here’s something new—the emerging sustainability industry. It’s a new sector of the Valley’s economy and it’s about sustaining our quality of life through all things green.
The $1 billion solar power project that APS announced Thursday is one massive example. Some weeks back the Trib did another story on a Phoenix housing project that was designed to generate its own power needs.
One of the hottest stocks on Wall Street has been Valley-based First Solar Inc., which produces thin-film solar modules.
I first learned of the Valley’s emerging sustainability sector at last fall’s economic summit sponsored by the East Valley Partnership.
Economist Steve Cochrane, senior managing director at Moody’s Economy.com, identified sustainability as one of five that would keep the Valley’s economy moving forward over the next 25 years, long after this downturn has passed.
Cochrane is based in Philadelphia and held all the stereotypes that the Valley’s economy was mainly retirement and tourism driven. He was surprised at just how diversified our economy is.
Here are a couple of lines from his report: “Green building has tremendous potential for growth over the long term, taking advantage of solar resources and effectively managing water use and other limited resources.
“Environmentally friendly homes are particularly important to a region like the East Valley where water resource considerations and alternative energy options can be incorporated into sustainable development.”
There is a lot of red in the East Valley economy right now, but watch for the green.
