Next 10

2010 Green Innovation Index

The updated 2010 California Green Innovation Index concludes that California’s green economy is one of the few areas of the economy that is growing in the current downturn. Read more about California’s global leadership in green innovation.

California Budget Challenge

Next 10 launched a June 2011 updated version of their popular nonpartisan budget balancing tool at budgetchallenge.org. Try your hand at solving the state’s fiscal woes today!

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Press Coverage

2010 - 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005

Read up on the press coverage Next 10 has received since its launch.

January 19th, 2011 (Video)
Green Job Growth Surges In Sacramento
By Leticia Ordaz, Channel 3 KCRA.com

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January 19th, 2011
News Bites: Virginia lawmakers challenge Cuccinelli's climate probe, U.S.- China energy deals on the march and more
By Ben Geman, The Hill

"Employers offering jobs in fields such as solar-power generation, electric-vehicle development and environmental consultation added 5,000 jobs in 2008, the latest data available. In all, about 174,000 Californians were working in eco-friendly fields by early 2009, compared with just 111,000 in 1995, said nonprofit research group Next 10," they report.

January 19th, 2011
Report
Capitol Alert

Next 10 and partner organizations release a new report on the state's "green" economy this morning. The 10 a.m. release of "Many Shades of Green: Regional Distribution and Trends in California's Green Economy 2011," will include a panel discussion at Siemens Mobility Corporate Headquarters featuring Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

January 19th, 2011
California Green Jobs Growing Fast- Study
By Russ Britt, The Wall Street Journal

Next 10, founded by venture capitalist F. Noel Perry, defines green businesses as those that provide alternative energy, specialize in conserving energy and natural resources, and are geared toward reducing pollution and recycling.

"While green job numbers are modest relative to the overall economy, there are very few business sectors in a state as large as California that employ people across every region," Perry said in a press release.

January 19th, 2011
Growth of Sacramento's green sector flat in 2009 study says
By Rick Daysog, The Sacramento Bee

After doubling over the past 15 years, job growth in Sacramento's green sector was flat in 2009, according to a new study. But San Francisco-based Next 10, which released the report, said the local region continues to be a leader in the state's rapidly expanding green economy and is well-positioned for further growth. "The (Sacramento) region has a tremendous foundation for the future," said F. Noel Perry, Next 10's founder.

January 19th, 2011
Green jobs up 3% in 2008, Next 10 report finds
By David Baker, San Francisco Chronicle

The report, from the Next 10 public policy group, found that the number of green jobs in the state grew 3 percent between January 2008 and January 2009, reaching 174,000 despite the deepening financial crisis. Employment throughout the California economy rose less than 1 percent.

January 19th, 2011
Green jobs showed strong growth in California in 2008, data show
By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

Employers offering jobs in fields such as solar-power generation, electric-vehicle development and environmental consultation added 5,000 jobs in 2008, the latest data available. In all, about 174,000 Californians were working in eco-friendly fields by early 2009, compared with just 111,000 in 1995, said nonprofit research group Next 10.

January 18th, 2011
Orange County green jobs grow 67%
By Mary Ann Milbourn, Orange County Register

"The green job data is significant because these jobs are growing in every region across the state, outpacing other sectors and generating business across the supply chain" Next 10 founder F. Noel Perry said in a news release. "While green job numbers are modest relative to the overall economy, there are very few business sectors in a state as large as California that employ people across every region."

January 18th, 2011
Green jobs continue to grow amid the economic downturn
By Dana Hull, The San Jose Mercury News

January 18th, 2011
California, Sacramento keeps growing 'green' jobs
By Melanie Turner, The Sacramento Business Journal

December 12th, 2010
The KPFA Evening News
By KFPA Radio

Next 10 featured at minute 18:11

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December 9th, 2010
Report: California's climate cap-and-trade won't negatively impact economy
By Rick Daysog, The Sacramento Bee

Next 10, a San Francisco nonprofit group that supports green technology, estimated the state's cap-and-trade program will increase electricity costs by an average of 2.3 percent to 4.1 percent per household by the year 2020. "There's very minimal impact on the California economy and there's very minimal impact on energy prices," said F. Noel Perry, Next 10's founder. A key component of the state's landmark climate change law, the cap-and-trade program essentially places a ceiling on the amount of carbon emitted by the state's 500 largest polluters.

December 9th, 2010
Most in state found to support carbon-trading plan
By David R. Baker, San Francisco Chronicle

Sixty-four percent of the people polled in the survey; commissioned by the nonpartisan Next 10 public policy group, support starting a cap and trade system within the state. And 54 percent want the money used to alleviate painful cuts in government services caused by the state's budget crisis. Next 10 founder F. Noel Perry said the poll results reflect Californians' belief that the fight against global warming represents a business opportunity for the state, home to many companies specializing in renewable power and alternative fuels.

December 8th, 2010
Voters favor cap-and-trade program
By Melanie Turner, Sacramento Business Journal

"How California designs its emissions trading program is a multibillion-dollar question," F. Noel Perry, a businessman and founder of Next 10, said in a news release. Researchers found that an emissions trading program will have a "negligible impact" on households and businesses, Perry said. In anticipation of an upcoming decision on the trading program by the California Air Resources Board, Next 10 commissioned a poll from the Field Research Corp., and five research papers from leading academic experts, to address how California should distribute greenhouse gas allowances and the resulting revenue. Emission permits are projected to be valued at between $2.5 billion and $7.5 billion in 2012, the first year of the state's cap-and-trade program.

December 8th, 2010
Californians Still Support Cap-and-Trade
By Craig Miller, KQED News

Next 10 founder Noel Perry says the research was commissioned nine months ago, with the hope that it would be ready before voters went to the polls to decide on the fate of Proposition 23, which would have frozen AB 32. But, Perry says, the work wasn't ready until now. The release is still timely, as next week the California Air Resources Board is expected to formally approve a huge package of AB 32 regulations, including the carbon-trading program.

October 24th, 2010
Viewpoints: Website Helps Voters Make Informed Choices
By F. Noel Perry, David M. Kennedy and Jack Citrin, Sacramento Bee

California government is unusual because the initiative process allows ordinary voters to make law. But ironically, big donors often dominate the initiative process because interest groups, corporations and wealthy individuals can donate unlimited funds to support or oppose state ballot measures. Our new interactive website, California Choices (www.californiachoices.org) is a nonpartisan clearinghouse for reliable, research-based information on each of the nine statewide November ballot measures, including in-depth endorsement information, polling data, campaign finance numbers, pro and con arguments for each measure, video clips from supporters and opponents, and much more. The website also includes a tool that allows users to share how they are voting with friends and family.

October 14th, 2010
You Endorsed Who?
By Robert Speer

Go to www.CaliforniaChoices.org and you'll find a compilation of endorsements—pro and con—of the nine ballot initiatives from 50 major nonprofits, unions, newspapers and political parties, everything from the AARP and the Council of Churches to the Libertarian Party. The results are organized in a matrix, with No votes in red, Yes votes in green. Propositions 23 and 26 are the least popular, and Proposition 27, which would return redistricting to the Legislature, is most … well, anomalous. Almost all newspapers, including this one, oppose it because it's fundamentally anti-democratic, but groups allied with the Democratic Party—unions in particular—support it, because Democrats are in the majority and want to protect their status.

October 12th, 2010
California's Tug of War Over Carbon Emissions
By Erica Gies, Wall Street Journal

Still, clean technologies have significant economic and jobs potential. While total employment in California fell 1 percent in 2007—8, green jobs grew five percent, according to a 2009 report from Next 10, an independent, nonpartisan environmental education organization founded by the venture capitalist F. Noel Perry.

More broadly, energy prices are expected to increase with or without the climate law. If AB 32 were to be suspended, electricity costs would increase 33 percent because of rising fossil fuel costs, according to an October 2009 study by Next 10.

October 12th, 2010
Marijuana, Other California Ballot Measures Get Non-Partisan Scrutiny
By John Wildermuth, San Francisco Gate

When it comes to the more obscure ballot measures, too many voters have to rely on self-serving -- and often misleading -- TV and radio ads and a hurried election eve glance at the state's voter information pamphlet before making choices that can have a dramatic effect on California. But a group has put together a non-partisan look at the ballot measures on its CaliforniaChoices.org website. The site includes pros and cons on each of the measures, an overall look at each proposition and links to partisan websites on each side. It also shows where many of the state's newspapers, unions and civic groups stand on the issue.

October 12th, 2010
Site Shows Who Endorsed What
By Zoe Cornelli, The Bay Citizen

The answers to these questions and more can be found here — it's part of CaliforniaChoices.org, a nonpartisan effort to inform Californians about the state's problems and possible solutions, with contributions from groups at Berkeley and Stanford. The page lists endorsements for statewide ballot measures from nonprofits, unions, newspapers, political parties and gubernatorial candidates.

October 12th, 2010
California's green-jobs numbers paint a mixed picture
By Jack Chang, Sacramento Bee

Green jobs may be growing more quickly than the overall state work force, but not nearly at the pace and in the numbers needed to turn around what's been a devastating labor market collapse, say economists and experts in the sector. "I don't want to oversell the core green economy," said F. Noel Perry, a venture capitalist who founded the nonprofit research group Next 10, which has extensively studied the alternative energy industry.

The state's 159,000 alternative energy jobs make up less than 1 percent of California's work force and just 7 percent of the 2.26 million people categorized by the state as unemployed in August, according to a Next 10 estimate and state figures.

October 7th, 2010
Green Tech, AB 32 major Economic Driver For State
By Malcolm Maclachlan, Capitol Weekly

Green technology is a major driver of economic development in California, according to a new study by Next 10, a non-partisan research organization created by Silicon Valley venture capitalist F. Noel Perry. The new study, called the 2010 Green Innovation Index, also found that the AB 32 global warming law is a major component of that economic engine. While Next 10 has taken no official position on Proposition 23, the November initiative that would suspend AB 32, the study is critical of most of the economic arguments that proponents have made in favor of the ballot measure.

October 7th, 2010
California Leads Nation in Green Tech
By Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle

California stands on the forefront of green technology and has gained an economic edge by cutting carbon usage, according to a report to be released today.

"California is unique as a leader in green innovation for the United States and the world," said F. Noel Perry, a businessman who founded Next 10, a nonpartisan public policy group that produced the report in conjunction with research firm Collaborative Economics. "Energy is the largest industry in the world and California is very well-positioned to reap the benefits of creation and innovation in the energy technology arena."

October 7th, 2010
Green Job Numbers in California Are Growing, Study Finds
By Rick Daysog, The Sacramento Bee

"The green economy is in every region ... and if it continues to grow, it will continue to create new jobs," said F. Noel Perry, founder of Next 10, a nonprofit group that focuses on economic and environmental issues in the state.

While clean tech businesses represent a small segment of the overall manufacturing industry, the study suggests that California's green industry is emerging as a major economic engine. The study noted that other barometers of the green economy – venture capital investments and patent awards – have risen sharply.

October 7th, 2010
California's Clean-Tech Industry Is Booming But Threatened
By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

The clean-tech industry is booming in California, with more money being invested in solar and other alternative energy start-ups than anywhere else in the world. So far, the state's green-tech industry, which includes electric vehicles, eco-friendly buildings and solar energy projects, has provided California with a much-needed economic boost. Clean-tech companies in Los Angeles and the Bay Area together employ about 20,000 manufacturing workers, according to the Next 10 study, which was conducted by Collaborative Economics.

October 7th, 2010
Report: Clean-Tech Powers California Economy
By Melanie Turner, Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal

"California is clearly benefiting economically from its position as a clean-tech innovator and early adopter of energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction measures," Perry said. "Our data shows that California continues to improve its energy productivity, which not only means we're using less energy per person, but also that cash is freed up for businesses and households to spend in the economy, which creates new jobs."
"California is not experiencing an exodus of businesses to other states," Next 10 founder F. Noel Perry writes in the report.

July 15th, 2010
Commercial Building Guzzle 37% of California's Energy
By Energy and Environmental News for Business

Next 10 is a Bay Area Think Tank that focuses on the economy and the environment. Their study found that commercial buildings' electricity consumption could be cut by as much as 80 percent. Officials with the Building Owners and Managers Association say they agree, but these findings aren't just true for commercial buildings.

July 14th, 2010
Study Finds Commercial buildings Could Be Saving Electricity and Money
By Ida Lieszkovszky, California Public Radio News

Next 10 is a Bay Area Think Tank that focuses on the economy and the environment. Their study found that commercial buildings' electricity consumption could be cut by as much as 80 percent. Officials with the Building Owners and Managers Association say they agree, but these findings aren't just true for commercial buildings.

July 14th, 2010
California conservation group criticizes older buildings' energy use
By Rick Daysog, The Sacramento Bee

Commercial buildings in California consume more than a third of the electricity used statewide, but much of that energy is wasted, according to a new report. "Up to 80 percent of the energy used by commercial buildings is going up in smoke," Next 10 founder F. Noel Perry said in a news release. Next 10 noted that relatively simple fixes such as upgrading the insulation in a building could cut usage by as much as 30 percent.

Read more...

July 13th, 2010
The Untapped Potential of Commercial Buildings
By Greenbiz.com

This white paper from Next 10 says that though California is a green building policy leader, commercial structures in the state are wasting huge amounts of energy.

The study, "Untapped Potential of Commercial Buildings: Energy Use and Emissions," was produced by the research and consulting organization Collaborative Economics for Next 10, an independent nonprofit that supports research, education and action to improve California.

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July 13th, 2010
Some "Low-Hanging Fruit" Still Hanging
By Craig Miller, KQED- Climate Watch

California's commercial buildings suck up more than a third of all the electricity used in the state--and that's too much. That's among the conclusions of a new report from the San Francisco-based think tank Next 10. The 12-page report points out that on average, such buildings could cut energy use by 30% just by upgrading insulation, and another 18-to-20% with more efficient lighting.

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July 1st, 2010
The Budget Challenge
By F. Noel Perry, Fox & Hounds Daily

July 1st has come and gone and California still does not have a budget. This is all too reminiscent of last year's painful three-month long negotiation process, and it seems almost certain that we are in for another grueling budget resolution season.

This tool was created by Next 10, an independent, non-partisan organization that educates, engages, and empowers Californians to improve our state's future. Next 10 recently released a June 2010 version of the California Budget Challenge that features the most up-to-date figures from Governor Schwarzenegger's May revise

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June 25th, 2010
Students Tackle State Budget Deficit
By Bill Silverfarb, San Mateo Daily Journal

Students at the College of San Mateo were able to trim about $10 billion of California's $19 billion deficit in a budget challenge game last night put together by state Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo. The California Budget Challenge is an interactive game developed by Next 10, a Menlo Park-based nonprofit agency that Noel Perry heads. Perry has conducted the game hundreds of times and no single group has yet to bridge the deficit entirely, he said. Two classes of about 100 students filled CSM's theater last night to participate in the game and get a good understanding of how the state budget process works.

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June 24th, 2010
'California Budget Challenge' with Assemblymember Jerry Hill and Next 10
By Let Your Voice Be Heard, College of San Mateo

This will be a valuable opportunity for us to let our representatives know which solutions to the current budget issues we believe are most viable and useful to us. In addition to taking the Budget Challenge, we will be discussing the reasons for the choices we make during the program.

June 10th, 2010
'Budget Challenge' gives Californians a crack at closing deficit
By Dan Walters, The Sacramento Bee

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators debate how to close the state's whopping budget deficit, an organization called Next10 is giving Californians a chance to play budget-writer themselves with an updated version of its " California Budget Challenge." Next10 says its update contains the latest figures on income and outgo now before a two-house budget conference committee, which is conducting a page-by-page perusal preparatory to making decisions, probably beginning next week.

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June 10th, 2010
State budget town hall
By Paul Eakins, Pasadena Star News

Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Lakewood, in collaboration the non-profit group Next 10, will host a town hall meeting about the California budget. Next 10 has created an innovative budget challenge simulation that mirrors the decisions the Legislature will have to make to balance the state's budget deficit. The simulation contains accurate figures for California's revenues and expenditures, the governor's proposed cuts and alternatives so that the audience can make the decisions.

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May 14th, 2010
Budget Forum in Alameda
By Chris Filippi, KCBS Radio

In Albany, more than two hundred people participated in the California Budget Challenge. So many people showed up at Albany High School that they needed to share instant response clickers. These allowed people to vote in real time on some of the decisions confronted by lawmakers in Sacramento. The California Budget Challenge uses real numbers and makes participants chose where to cut spending and whether to raise taxes. Assembly Member Nancy Skinner hosted the event. She says the people she represents are willing to pay more for a healthier economy.

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May 13th, 2010
Schwarzenegger backs California as hub for green jobs
By Laurel Rosenhall, The Sacramento Bee

Schwarzenegger said policies pushing environmental sustainability are actually driving innovation and creating jobs. Green jobs grew by 36 percent between 1995 and 2008 in California, according to a Bay Area think tank called Next 10. That figure compares with an increase of 13 percent for all jobs in the state. The issue is especially significant in the Sacramento region, where the number of green jobs nearly doubled in the time period examined by Next 10.

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May 12th, 2010
Skinner to Host CA budget Challenge in Orinda
By Andrea A. Firth, Lamorinda Weekly

Next 10 has facilitated over 30 events across the state and over 13,000 users have gone online to take the Budget Challenge. Skinner held three events in her District last year, in Emeryville, Oakland, and Pleasant Hill, and she has three scheduled for this month Richmond, Albany, and Orinda. The event will begin with Skinner giving a welcome as well as an overview of the current budget situation in Sacramento.

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April 14th, 2010
Take the California budget Challenge
By Susannah Kopecky, California Independent Voter Network

Budget making is no longer reserved for the political elite… well, technically anyway. A small group of Californians proved the point this week after participating in a Mercury News poll, based off a project started by the group Next 10. Next 10 was started by F. Noel Parry, a venture capitalist, and is "Focused on innovation and the intersection between the economy, the environment, and quality of life issues for all Californians."

The group's newest challenge asks regular Joes to act as legislators, and decide how to clamp down on a budget deficit of over $18 billion.

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April 11, 2010
Think you could fix California’s budget woes?
By Denis C. Theriault, The San Jose Mercury News

Some 150,000 people have taken the California Budget Challenge in the six years since the nonpartisan think tank Next 10 introduced it, and many of them have fallen short, too. The agony over that last few billion — choosing sick children over mentally ill adults, corporate tax breaks over university fees — is what the simulation's designers aim to drive home, in hopes of forcing a new understanding of the state's woes.

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April 6th, 2010
California greenhouse gas law still has majority support, Field Poll finds
By Dale Kasler, The Sacramento Bee

Next 10 released the survey as AB 32 is essentially fighting for its life.
Noel Perry, founder of Next 10, said: "It is not surprising that the current recession is causing somewhat greater uncertainty. Yet this research shows that large majorities of voters continue to believe that clean energy policies don't take jobs away."

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April 6th, 2010
Majorities of Californians Support Law to Reduce greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fees on Emitters with Taxpayer Rebates
Business Journal

"The financial crisis has hit hard in California, so it is not surprising to see that the current recession is causing somewhat greater uncertainty," said F. Noel Perry, founder of Next 10. "Yet this research shows that large majorities of voters continue to believe that clean energy policies don't take jobs away, and that expanding jobs, growing the economy and reducing global warming emissions are mutually compatible goals."

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April 6th, 2010
Survey: California voters “bullish” on AB 32
By Melanie Turner, Sacramento Business Journal

A majority of California voters support AB 32, the state’s landmark global warming legislation, (58 percent) and imposing a fee on companies that emit greenhouse gases if most of the money collected is returned to state residents (64 percent). That’s according to a statewide poll conducted for Next 10 by Field Research Corp. Next 10 is an independent, nonpartisan organization that works to help Californians to improve the state’s future.

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April 6th, 2010
More believe policy encouraging clean technologies will add than reduce jobs
By PR Newswire- San Francisco Examiner

A new statewide poll conducted for Next 10 by Field Research Corporation finds that a majority of California voters support both the state's landmark 2006 law that requires reducing greenhouse gas emissions (58%), and imposing a fee on companies that emit these gases if most of the money collected is returned back to state residents (64%).

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March 25, 2010
McClatchy high School students in Sacramento take the Budget Challenge
KCRA.com

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March 25, 2010
Try your hand at balancing the budget
F. Noel Perry, San Francisco Chronicle

The challenge is a nonpartisan online budget simulation from my organization, Next 10, that lets voters try their hand at solving the state's budget crisis and make decisions on issues ranging from income taxes to education funding and more.

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March 25, 2010
New Online Game Lets You Balance The State Budget
KPBS

Ever thought about how you would whittle away California's $20 billion deficit? You can try your hand at balancing the budget in the newest edition of the "Budget Challenge." It's an online game created by Next Ten, a non-partisan group that focuses on the state budget, economy and the environment.

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