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A few weeks ago I attended India’s largest solar energy focused business and technology event, SOLARCON India 2010. This was the second year SOLARCON was held in India and I was pleased with the positive energy, momentum and great dialogue around the conference.

While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) decision to delay a floor debate and a vote on the RES-less energy bill until the fall is clearly disappointing, it is important to remember that the fight to enact comprehensive climate and energy legislation is far from over.

Recently I spent four amazing, rainy hours at Shanghai’s Expo 2010. The Expo, which is built around the theme, "Better City, Better Life," is focused on the future of the urban environment and the ways in which future policies and urban strategies will influence sustainable development in large urban areas such as Shanghai.

Like many things in China, the Expo is absolutely astounding. It covers over 92 acres and expects approximately 70 million visitors during its six month run.

Recently Applied Materials hosted seven members of the New Democrat Coalition to discuss key issues affecting the development of clean energy technology in the U.S. The New Democrat Coalition (called the “New Dems” for short) is a group of seventy House of Representatives Democrats with a focus on pro-innovation and pro-growth policy objectives. The group met with Applied Materials Chairman and CEO, Mike Splinter for a roundtable meeting to discuss the current state of the solar industry, policy recommendations for improving clean-tech manufacturing and research and development in the U.S. and the effects of U.S. tax policy on the high-tech industry’s development.

Applied Materials hosted a delegation of nine Bundestag (Germany’s Parliament) Members in Santa Clara, California last week. The visit was part of a familiarization trip to learn more about the company and our operations in Germany.

Germany is home to several hundred Applied Materials employees and numerous customers, not to mention being the largest economy within the European Union (EU). Applied Materials’ executive vice president Franz Janker, briefed the Bundestag Members on Applied’s overall business and footprint in Germany. They also learned about our solar and other energy and environmental technologies.