California is revolutionizing the clean tech industry and leading the way for the rest of the country in areas such as vehicle emissions. But with the recent layoffs and disappearing jobs, this revolution may not be the cure-all that many expect.

Although California is in the midst of an economic crisis, much like the rest of the country, there are signs of a green boom, and we should give props to the Golden State for leading the way. Investments in clean technology and renewable energy may help spark economic growth in a state that desperately needs it, according to non-profit Next 10's California Green Innovation Index report, which shows the effects of green tech on the state’s economy.

Despite slowing in overall venture capital investment, clean technology investment in California hit an all-time high in 2008 of $3.3 billion, according to the report. That was an increase of nearly $1.5 billion from 2007 and over seven times total clean tech investment in 2005 – and it represented 57 percent of total U.S. investment in the segment. Silicon Valley companies were on the receiving end of $1.8 billion of that. And speaking of innovation, it led all states in patents registrations for green technologies from 2002 to 2007.

More from the report: In the past 30 years, California has created jobs while its residents cut their energy usage and decreased their greenhouse gas emissions per capita. In fact, Californians, despite higher rates, pay lower utility bills and spend billions less of their state economy as a whole on electricity than the rest of the country due to energy efficiency innovation. Not to rag on Bush’s home state, but the average monthly residential electricity bill in California is less than half of the average monthly bill in Texas, representing a total savings for Californians of nearly $25 billion in 2007.

While lessening energy usage, the state worked on increasing renewable energy. Power generation from renewable sources increased by 19 percent in California from 2002 to 2007, while total energy generation grew by only 11 percent.  Since 2003, the wind power generated for California increased 95 percent. And it increased grid-connected photovoltaic solar capacity by 41 percent from 2006 to 2007. To encourage people to use public transit, the state added more than 100 million transit service miles between 2005 and 2006.

Although thousands of people across the country have lost their jobs, green job growth in California has grown by 10 percent since 2005 while statewide jobs increased by only 1 percent. The strongest sectors for jobs are listed as Advanced Materials, Transportation, Air & Environment and Green Building.

The report does have its drawbacks. The total count of green jobs doesn't include the rapid growth of green-tech companies for most of the last two years or the layoffs of recent months. Nor does it account for the fact that many of these jobs are one-time occurrences, such as retrofitting buildings or building out the electrical grid. Nonetheless, it is a positive sign in a bleak economy.