Advancing Houston

Tory Gattis wrote this column yesterday, and I have to say I heartily agree with it. Here’s the bulk of it:

Houston has a unique window of opportunity right now to secure its economic future as well as improve its world-city status. We’re currently the global capital of the oil and gas industry, one of the most important industries in the world. The short to medium-term future for oil and gas also looks bright. But the long-term future of energy technology is fuzzy. Will we be well positioned to be the capital of all energy technologies? Or will it pass us by, and we will become the next Detroit/Cleveland/Pittsburgh/etc.?

A good case study would the information technology industry and Boston vs. Silicon Valley. Boston was the original information technology hub, especially in the mainframe and mini-computer eras, but Silicon Valley’s vibrant entrepreneurialism eventually left Boston in the dust. Could the same thing happen to us with alternative energy and California, Denver/Boulder, Austin, or elsewhere?

There is a lot of acknowledgment that we need to broaden our energy-industry base to include more alternative energy, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of specific strategy (Opportunity Houston excepted). My suggestion? Build on Paul Graham’s idea for creating the next Silicon Valley (estimated price only $1B, or two Reliant Stadiums), but focus it instead on alternative energy companies. These companies are cheap right now and starving for capital in this economy (see this Business Week story on the Biofuel Bubble). Investing in them conditional on moving to Houston would be a bargain many would readily accept, helping to establish a Silicon Valley-like critical mass here.

…

The more I’ve thought about it, top world cities don’t just have big economies, industries, and populations (which we certainly have), they also have an intangible “buzz factor” – a sexy, exciting story as part of their identity. The fame and celebrity of the entertainment industry gave it to LA. Technology and natural beauty gave it to the San Francisco bay area. Media, finance, the UN, and Manhattan gave it to NYC. Some cities have the buzz without the world-city economy or population to back it up – Vegas, Denver, Portland, and Austin come to mind. Atlanta tried to buy the buzz with the Olympics. You get the idea. Houston lacks that popular buzz factor, and oil and gas alone is not going to get us there. Top-tier tourism is not a realistic option. But if we morph into the Silicon Valley of Energy – one of the bedrock industries of the world – I think that would do it.

It’s an incredible opportunity, and one we should seize quickly. If oil prices continue to re-inflate, these alternative energy companies will again become popular and expensive with plenty of capital options – making it almost impossible to move them here. Other cities may build an insurmountable lead in different alternative energy clusters, leaving us behind (right now it is very open, with no clear leader). It’s all too easy to cruise on our recession-resistant economy and strong oil and gas industry, but this is the time to take aggressive action. Attack, while the moment is right, and secure Houston’s future greatness.

I think this is a phenomenal, fantastic, absolutely wonderful idea.

My question is, to Tory and to everyone else who reads this: how do ‘we the people’ get this started? What does it take to turn something like this – a great idea that is theoretically simple and straightforward enough to be easily executed – and turn it into reality?

I’m eager to hear ideas! How do we do it?