Somebody has to save the environment, right? Why not make a few bucks in the process?

Sure, it sounds cynical, but that’s where we are these days … at least according to this Associated Press article.

“The United States, Europe and Japan are locked in a frantic race to cash in on the exploding business of saving the planet,” the article claims. And it’s not just businesses who have an eye on the environment. Investors, too, are seeing opportunities in becoming eco-friendly.

“(T)he battle against global warming continues to offer investors an unusual chance to be idealistic and greedy at the same time,” the article states. “… Deloitte Touche’s 2006 ‘Global Venture Capital Survey’ in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa found that for a second year in a row respondents selected energy/environment as the sector most likely to see the highest increase in investment focus,” the article continues.

Is “going green” here to stay in corporate America? Is it just a passing fad that’s dependent on the bottom line? Or can both notions co-exist comfortably? What do you think?