Oilman-turned-wind-crusader, T. Boone Pickens, has an escape plan for our nation’s energy mess. It involves natural gas, wind turbines and lots of them, and a commitment to invest in clean-tech innovations. If you caught “60 Minutes” on Oct. 26, you must admit that it made for good TV and good blogging, even conversation.

Where am I headed with this? Well, first, I may be new to the medical-device market, having joined the Medical Design staff in September (after 16 years of reporting on the appliance design-engineering field), but even as I inch my way up the learning curve, I know enough to be excited about being part of an industry that thrives on innovating potentially life-saving devices and treatments.

Venture capitalists, too, are excited (OK, cautiously optimistic is probably more accurate), when it comes to biotech as well as energy investments. Faysal Sohail of San Francisco-based CEMA Ventures says in the most recent MoneyTree quarterly report that this is one of the best times to build a life sciences or energy-related start-up. And during a recent MD&M panel discussion in Minneapolis, Hans Hinrichs, vice president of corporate, finance for GE Financial Healthcare Financial Services, encouraged innovators to keep pressing forward “because the money will be there” for promising new technologies

But wouldn’t be cool if out of this pool of venture capitalists one arose to be an enthusiastic voice that would be a national media draw?

After all, ours is an industry that will likely be an important part of an effective remedy for curing our nation’s sick economy.

We welcome your comments and insights. Send yours to joe.jancsurak@penton.com.