Renewable energy ideas

So, today my family & I went to the museum, in part to check out the renewable energy expo that was being held in honor of Earth day. Walking around and talking to some of the people who are involved in these areas, I found my self thinking about ways to use some of thes technologies for a business of my own.
One thing that became immidiately obvious, was the focus on the heating and air conditioning of homes. Apparently, housholds makeup a very large potion of our countries "carbon footprint." With my experience and background, going back into the HVAC business seems a rather obvious choice. Selling and installing only high efficiency systems would allow me to make a living, while simultaneously making a difference in the use of our natural resources. I would, however, have to go back into working and getting dirty, which I'm not sure I want to do.
The second thing I noticed about the show, was the number of new products on display that could be used to make people more comfortable while either using less energy, or using some other type of energy altogether. This got me thinking about maybe getting into retrofitting homes with solar hot water, air mixing ventilation, solar lighting or even photvoltiacs. This would enable me to use my HVAC background, electrical and plumbing knowledge to give some of these ideas a larger market, and hopefully, help make the market profitable enough to encourage increased funding of these technologies.
Lastly, I noticed the interest of so many people on the subject of creating and using non-traditional energy sources. This got me to thinking about all the people who either havn't considered the idea, or are against the idea of change, for whatever their reason. Of these people, I am sure there are many who hold the belief that the whole global warming craze is just another fad, or maybe it's part of some liberal agenda.
I wonder, are there arguments being made for conservation that make sense to all who are involved?