Energy
Our Chance at a Clean, Green Economic Revolution
With billions of dollars potentially up for grabs, and forces in every corner proposing solutions, it’s critical to consider which infrastructure projects will make the best investments for our future.By Alan Durning, Daily Sightline, Guest Writer, 12-09-08
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Last week, governors from around the country met with President-Elect Obama to discuss the financial crisis. Described as the “first line of defense” in economic fallouts, many governors have called for federal investments in local infrastructures. With billions of dollars potentially up for grabs, and forces in every corner proposing solutions, it’s critical to consider which projects will make the best investments for our future.
By fostering a clean energy economy, powered by green-collar jobs, we can achieve an economic revival, bring about an end to our addiction to foreign oil, and set an example for other parts of the world – all at the same time. But economic recovery won’t necessarily distribute jobs to those that need them the most; we need to apply ourselves to the problem and ensure that green becomes a pathway out of poverty
Regionally, a key opportunity exists with the Western Climate Initiative – a coalition of seven states and four provinces banding together to design a regional system for regulating greenhouse gases. The climate initiative will ultimately provide the motive fuel for the clean energy revolution by ensuring clean energy industries are profitable and that we realize the potential of green-collar jobs across our region. As some state legislatures consider the WCI proposals this January, now is the time to encourage decisions-makers to invest in a clean, green economy.
At the national level, we need to ensure that federal money is spent wisely. President-Elect Obama has called for programs that invest in green-collar jobs. The current stimulus packages have already included some smart ideas like tax incentives for electric vehicles, rooftop solar panels, bicycle commuting, and home efficiency upgrades. Encouraging smart investments like these will not only move us away from dirty energy sources, but also create thousands of new, well-paid jobs throughout the country.
While the current economic crisis is deeply concerning to families and businesses in the West, there is opportunity and hope to be found in the financial meltdown. Rather than dwelling on the lack of oversight and missteps that got us into this mess, we can – and should – focus on paths to economic recovery that will lead us to a prosperous and equitable future. Solutions like green-collar jobs and smart climate policy are our chance at turning the economic crisis into a chance for opportunity.
Alan Durning is the executive director of the Sightline Institute, a not-for-profit think tank working to improve the health of the Northwest. For more commentary on crosscutting solutions to the economic situation, read Sightline’s blog series: “Economic Turnaround at
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Comments
The economic crisis our country faces is rooted in over-consumption and over-development. More of the same is simply not going to work.
I believe that all "bailouts" or "stimulus" packages should be put through a "sustainability filter." For example, giving the Big Three automakers a $15 billion taxpayer loan to produce more gas hogs that nobody wants really isn't a sensible solution for anyone, except perhaps a few corporate executives. Taking the $15 billion from a fund set aside for energy efficient cars and trucks, which is what is happening, is just more salt in the wound. The "sustainability filter" would catch much of this misguided funding.
I would even go so far as to advocate that all federal funding, period, needs to go through a sustainability filter. Obama has promised a "clean and green" energy future and the bailout (which some say will reach 8 trillion dollars when all is said and done) represents the best way to kick start that transformation and also create the jobs of the future in the process.
If we're going to use this money on infrastructure projects in Montana and other states, let's make sure we are building the type of clean, green and sustainable infrastructure needed for 2150 and beyond, not the infrastructure we needed in 1950.
At this point in our nation's history pouring billions and billions more into an out-dated, fossil-fuel based energy, transportation and food infrastructure doesn't make any sense. We need significant changes to modernize our infrastructure, make sure it's truly clean and green and ensure that it's the type of infrastructure our country will need for the next hundred years.
I believe that there are many worthwhile and sustainable programs and projects that could involve federal lands in the West and be included in new green economic stimulus packages. These may not be considered traditional infrastructure per se, but could provide tangible and lasting public benefits. Many of these could also use currently unemployed workers with only moderate to minimal training requirements.
These programs/projects could include:
1) Addressing the huge maintenance backlog of federal land management agencies in terms of weatherizing buildings, installing or replacing signs, installing or replacing road culverts, fixing broken water lines or irrigation systems, installing modern septic systems, implementing route designation decisions, etc. As I understand it, there is at least one billion dollars worth of such specific projects already identified just for the FWS National Wildlife Refuge System.
2) Establishing teams to eradicate or at least better control harmful invasive, exotic, and nuisance weeds. These weeds are already causing billions of dollars worth of crop, livestock, and habitat losses, and are dramatically changing the fire ecology for the worse in many areas.
3) Establishing teams to properly close thousands of dangerous and/or environmentally harmful abandoned mines throughout the West (after first checking to ensure that any resident bat populations are protected or relocated).
4) Establishing teams to augment or expand existing federal efforts on fuel reduction, special status species reintroduction, watershed health, and ecological restoration projects. For example, these teams could expedite fencing along streams to keep livestock out, and thereby enhance restoration of native riparian habitats.
These types of "green" projects would allow people to earn "green" for doing the right thing.