As we reported on the Los Angeles Exception yesterday, a new analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund, with support from the State of California, has found that the number of green businesses is growing dramatically across the state.

Statewide, the number of green businesses increased by 60 percent over last year and currently totals more than 3,500, according to EDF. That's an incredible growth rate, recession or not.

However, if one reads the press release that accompanies the data, it becomes clear why green businesses seem to only exist on the virtual map that the EDF created.

Previously, EDF only tallied businesses that were directly involved in the green economy, such as those that build green buildings or develop low-carbon energy solutions. This year, the environmental group added two additional categories: "businesses that use sustainable practices; and non-profits, academic institutions and public agencies that design policies, train workers and educate the public on the economic opportunities that stem from energy and environmental policies."

In other words, over half of the green businesses in California are not really green businesses at all.

Lots of firms make meaningless environmental commitments on their websites. Does using recycled toilet paper and buying the occasional CFL lightbulb make an advertising agency or yoga studio "a business that uses sustainable practices?"

It's even more troubling that such a high percentage of the state's green jobs involve nothing more than thinking about green jobs or training workers for green jobs that don't exist today and may not even exist tomorrow.

There's a lot of brainpower behind the green economy. Yet most of it seems to be dedicated towards making the case for government investments.

"Elected officials who have supported energy-related policies also can see the fruits of their labor," Tim O'Connor, an EDF attorney from Sacramento said of the map which shows where green jobs are concentrated across the state.

Investing in a green economy may have its merits. But elected officials will soon have to explain to voters why there are so many green businesses in the news and so few that are actually ready to employ all the green job trainees.

Photo credit: Graham Girard, GreenForAll, Flickr.