Alternative energy has become in-vogue, with the Supreme Court, Wall Street, exchange traded funds (ETFs), fashionistas and even the Academy Awards taking notice. The Wall Street Journal looks at personal finance and notes that with oil going over $60 a barrel and the U.S. government looking to rely less on imports, alternative energy sources will be in high demand. Naturally, investors will look to cash in on the alternative energy boom, if not for themselves then for future generations.

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on greenhouse-gas emissions was a reason for "taking a closer look" at these funds, not to mention Al Gore’s Oscar for "An Inconvenient Truth".

Many of the ETFs and mutual funds focusing on alternative energy invest in companies that produce or use alternative energy from fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol to wind and solar power. A lot has changed since Joni Mitchell and The Ladies of the Canyon first raised environmentalism in mainstream consciousness, with their geodesic domes and lifestyles, but the message is still the same.

Tags: Energy, Green ETFs, Natural Gas