Throughout the last generation we have all frequently heard advocates make the case for reduction of our country’s greenhouse gas emission levels and propose a shift in our energy policy away from oil and towards renewable energy. Most recently, on the campaign trail, Obama pledged to invest $150 billion over the next 10 years in sustainable energy. He asserts that an 80% reduction of our country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is achievable and avers that investment in the following three areas will be imperative: creation of hybrid and alternative fuel automobiles, increased production of renewable energies, and implementation of a country wide cap-and-trade program. The plan incorporates sustainable building measures such as requiring all new buildings to be carbon neutral by 2030, retrofitting the government’s old buildings, constructing new federal buildings that are energy efficient and winterizing homes for low-income families. You can find the full text of the Obama energy plan on his campaign website, http://www.barackobama.com/. John McCain also supported a cap-and-trade system and US emissions reductions. His plan is laid out on his campaign site, http://www.johnmccain.com/. Al Gore’s plan is similar to the Obama plan and acknowledges that buildings contribute to 40% of the US’ emissions. Gore, however, does not believe in funding for “clean coal” technology as Obama does. The Gore plan can be found on-line at http://www.wecansolveit.org/, and http://www.algore.com/, also see his Op-Ed column in last week’s Sunday NY Times.
After the outcome of the election on November 4th, news media throughout the country published articles projecting that an Obama presidency will consummate what proponents argue is a dire need for the US adoption of green policies. Wherever you look the cry for green change is in the air. Many environmental groups and organizations have grasped the moment to provide our nations leaders with advice on how to seize this potential:
The Center for Progressive Reform: http://www.progressivereform.org/penstroke.cfm
National Resources Defense Counsel: http://www.nrdc.org/media/2008/081104.asp
Environmental Defense: http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?contentID=8761
Union of Concerned Scientists: http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/obama-administration-new-0156.html
Additionally, many of these same organizations and politicians highlight a key point that investment in these areas will not only create a cleaner country for future generations, but will have the added benefit of stimulating the economy and providing Americans with jobs that cannot be outsourced in an increasingly global economy.
Reading these plans and articles, however, is like wading through a sea of idealism, so many magnificent ideas and lofty goals, but little guarantee that any of them will come to fruition. So, despite the exciting potential and our new President’s promises, our optimism remains guarded, with a touch skepticism creeping in with the current economic downturn and the steep road that lies ahead in actualizing these goals. The moment is not only hopeful, but pivotal. The message of emissions reduction and energy conservation is prolific on the nation’s airwaves, and paramount in the public’s mind. The leaders have lauded green jobs as a solution, at a time where many of us need a solution more than ever. We are at a critical point in our nation’s history, a point where potential is abound, where green policy intersects with mainstream American values and the creation of jobs. Now, not only are the green community’s eyes on the government, but the eyes of the nation as a whole. We stand together and wait for what will come, and hope that some day in the not to distant future we will finally be able to say, the time for green has truly arrived.
We will be sure to keep you updated on the sustainable decisions that the nation’s new leadership makes, but in the meantime, please tell us what you think about the measures set out in the plans and articles above. What do you think will actually be realized?
Steve Sacks
