As economic woes continue, there is a bright spot. Companies and people looking to cut costs and protect the environment are helping create a new green economy.

Van Jones is a special advisor to President Obama for green jobs: "Giving people the opportunity and the work of putting in clean non-toxic insulation, double-paning glass so that the windows don't leak so much energy, replacing ill-fitting doors, replacing old out-of-date boilers and furnaces with new updated equipment. All that is work, but it's work that pays for itself, uh, in cost savings on energy."

Companies like Frito Lay are taking positive steps like installing solar panels on the roof of their headquarters in Plano, Texas to heat water. And Hewlett-Packerd maintains several e-waste recycling plants where components from their 100% recyclable computers can be reused.

The emerging green economy means reducing the amount of fossil fuels burned. And it also means new job creation.