There's a growing push in Washington for a green economic-stimulus package, and enviros have reason to hope President-elect Barack Obama will lead the charge.
"Finding the new driver of our economy is going to be critical. There's no better driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy," Obama told Time's Joe Klein in an interview two weeks ago. "That's going to be my No. 1 priority when I get into office, assuming obviously that we have done enough to just stabilize the immediate economic situation."
Obama adviser Dan Kammen said this week that the Obama team may conduct a nationwide "listening tour" on energy and environmental issues in the next couple of months, in an effort to build support for its legislative plans. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Actually, Kammen says that he mentioned "listening tours" and "topical summits" as ideas that previous new administrations have considered or conducted on key issues. His comment was mischaracterized in an article by E&E News.]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), at a press conference on Wednesday, talked up the need for a stimulus package that includes green elements, ideally before Obama even takes office. "Central to the job-creation issue is the strong piece for rebuilding the infrastructure of America, again, in a way that reduces our dependence on foreign oil and that creates good green jobs in America. That is the first order of business that we will have, if it appears to have an opportunity, then we will have a lame-duck session to take it up."
At a post-election press conference on Wednesday, leaders of major environmental groups also stressed the importance of an economic-stimulus package that includes green measures like home-weatherization funding, efficiency incentives, and aid for the auto industry make more efficient vehicles. That could be low-hanging fruit for creating new jobs and curbing energy use and emissions, they said.
"It's about connecting the dots between energy, the environment, and the economy, and President Obama made that clear," said Sierra Club Political Director Cathy Duvall. "It will help our economy recover, and it will also help our environment recover."
"If there's going to be a new economic stimulus package, clean energy should be cornerstone," said Anna Aurilio of Environment America. "We think solving the economic crisis is going to be predicated on how well we launch the clean-energy economy."
"The biggest solution is a new energy future," said Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters. "We're pleased to be able to work with a new president who gets it on these issues."
At an Environmental Law Institute event on Wednesday, policy wonks and a senior adviser to Republican Sen. Dick Lugar (Ind.) voiced similar sentiments.
The event's moderator, Brookings Institution fellow David Sandalow (who was also an energy and environmental adviser to Obama's campaign), noted that Obama will take leadership at "a period of historic opportunity and historic constraints." The panelists agreed that the key to passing new energy and environmental legislation will be using it to spur economic growth -- through building efficiency, mass transit, and infrastructure development.
"He has to sell it as an economic opportunity, and has to show sustained presidential leadership," said Mark Helmke, who advises Lugar on these issues. "What he does on this issue from the bully pulpit will make light years of difference ... It depends on how much President Obama uses his vaunted position to put heat on this topic."
Green economic stimulus seems likely to be the earliest environmental progress we could see in the next year -- if Obama and the new Congress can push it through.
"[Obama] understands the gravity of the problems we face, and we expect him to act," said Sierra Club's Duvall. "We expect to work with him on investing in clean energy and new jobs."
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Comments View as Flat
colinpeppard Posted 4:31 am
07 Nov 2008
Don't Forget Green Transportation!!
I'm glad to see everyone excited about the potential for a "green stimulus." Improving our economy by investing in our future and protecting us from climate change is the way forward! But I am concerned about the inclusion of billions of dollars for roads and highways in every stimulus package I've seen so far!
A truly "green" stimulus or economic package must be about more than investments renewable energy, efficiency measures, smart grid technology, high-efficiency vehicles, and other electricity and fuel investments. It needs to be about "green" transportation - mass transit and smart growth (mixed-use, transit-oriented, walkable) development.
More roads will move both the economy and environment in the wrong direction. More roads mean more driving, which means more carbon. Not only will more roads move the carbon needle in the wrong direction, but they will ultimately move the economic needle in the wrong direction. Energy experts and economist are predicting that oil is headed back over $100/brl in the near future. By leaving Americans no other choice besides their cars, we are locking them in to paying whatever price is set by rising global demand, ExxonMobil, and OPEC.
Investing in mass transit and smart growth will boost the economy. Building and operating transit can create millions of jobs - more than building new roads and bridges. Homes in walkable, mixed-use areas near transit have held their value, as most home prices have plummeted. Many real estate experts see smart growth development as the future of real estate and a significant business opportunity.
The Dems would do well not to fall into the trap of the old New Deal ways by plowing cash into asphalt.
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Jon Rynn Posted 4:52 am
07 Nov 2008
I fear that "green transportation"
will be overlooked -- it might come in the back door, if the Feds bail out the state and local governments that are facing huge fiscal crises. An incredible lost opportunity.
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sctajc Posted 1:46 pm
07 Nov 2008
The 'Green Economy' is coming...
But in a smart green way. The real driver is energy independence. We need to be free from monopolies like OPEC and nutters like Hugo Chavez. Alternative energies like PV solar, wind, clean coal, nuclear are all part of the green revolution.
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sunblown22 Posted 4:16 pm
09 Nov 2008
Global Warming and Sustainable communities
Global warming and the resulting climate change problem is caused by excess quantities of greenhouses gases that alters the optical characteristics of the world's atmosphere. Of all the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is the most significant.
The original source of carbon dioxide was volcanic activity. That source will continue for many millions of years. According to scientists, the delivery of carbon dioxide by volcanic activity has been consistent for over 2 billion years. Naturally, certain areas of the earth experienced excessive volcanic activity. Over time, the earth's surface ecology stored CO2 at the same rate as it discharged so that an equilibrium state was achieved. However, due to human activities, CO2 was extracted from the earth and placed back into the atmosphere so that the system became unbalanced.
In simple terms, all matter that humans burn once was a form of plant or animal matter. That matter was once alive and the chemistry of life is completely dependent on the element carbon, which is the basic material of all life. The carbon atom has the unique ability to chemically link itself to itself infinitely, and to link to a range of other elements. These links form immeasurable chains and compounds in a vast array of complexity. The source of energy used to form these complex carbon compounds has been the energy of sunlight absorbed by plant leaves through photosynthesis.
After the remains of living matter have been buried underground and out of contact with air for many millennia, chemical reactions stabilize the matter, which becomes fossils. The fossil materials of greatest concern regarding the problem of global warming are coal, oil, natural gas and peat. When these fossil forms are burned on the earth surface to make use of their energy or manufactured into degradable products, their carbon contents is converted into atmospheric carbon dioxide. This process increases the carbon content of our biosphere.
In short, by extracting and burning fossil carbon materials we are adding carbon to the biosphere that has been stored underground for millions of years.
You can review a great deal of environmental information and news at www.onebiosphere.com You will find that the information is accurate and tough. Environmental groups do not escape criticism. When the environmental groups partner with Chlorox and join forces with PG&E, then the character of the environmental organization relative to environmental protection is in serious question.
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Backcut Posted 11:51 pm
09 Nov 2008
Healthy Forests II?
I demand that the greens come up with a plan to put people back into the woods fixing 40+ years of forest mismanagement.
Or will greens settle for the martydom of our forests, in exchange for more "proof" of global warming?
Forest "UN-management" is NOT green! Our old growth forests evolved with hands-on human management. However greens want to "re-make" the forests into something new that is NOT natural.
Into a forest without humans.
Scenic pics at http://Lhfotoware.blogspot.com
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Ken Roseman Posted 3:53 am
10 Nov 2008
Green Transportation
I absolutely agree with this. Existing roads should be kept in good condition, but building NEW roads will surely encourage more automobile use and "sprawl" growth which will in turn destroy more open space and cause more pollution. Even if ALL cars and trucks were incrediblly efficient, they still require space to be used. We must start moving away from autombile dependency.
There would be plenty of "green jobs" in building and maintaining mass transit systems and in expanding and improving AMTRAK.
Development should be concentrated so that is transit friendly. Also-- development money should fund improvements in decaying and decayed urban areas. A lot of those places still have mass transit infrustructure that can/should be improved. Development should be closely monitored so that small, independent, locally based businesses are encouraged.
Anyhow, good work Colin Peppard!
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Terry Mock Posted 12:23 am
15 Nov 2008
Land Developers and Sustainable Economics
http://www.sldi.org/newService/SLDIOct2008.html
As previously forecast in this column, a series of financial "Black Swans" is now upon us. These major disruptive events, which by definition were unpredicted by the establishment experts, now include the failures of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Merrill Lynch, Wachovia, and Washington Mutual, with more surprises undoubtedly on the way.
While there have been numerous authorities working day and night to solve the problem, it is important to note that these same people were the ones that were managing the financial system in the first place. According to Professor Nouriel Roubini, no professional independent economist was consulted by Congress or invited to present his/her views at the Congressional hearings on the Treasury Department's rescue plan. This brings to mind some words of wisdom from Albert Einstein - "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them".
As pointed out in the recently published book, Bad Money - Reckless Finance, Failed Politics and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism, the failure of the current financial system was not only predictable, but this same kind of thinking was also responsible for the fall of the last two global economic powers - the Netherlands followed by Britain. As is established in the book and elsewhere, the current credit crisis interrelates with our energy crisis and all the other economic failures the global economy is now suffering through. It all comes down to deficit spending by both public and private entities.
Ironically, the current financial meltdown is confirmation of a prediction made in 1995 when, as a land developer and the past-president of the Florida Native Plant Society, I authored an article entitled "Earth Restoration - The Bridge to a New Global Culture", wherein I said, "The existing world order is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and will not be capable of sustaining itself much longer by exploiting dwindling world supplies of natural resources and by deficit government spending...The good news is that out of these huge problems will come the pressure to replace our old system with new political and business structures that will provide for a sustainable global economy".
How do we make our civilization more sustainable?
As outlined in our February 2008 SLDI newsletter, "Collaborative innovation is needed to unlock the future as the world is facing a variety of challenges", and current efforts to create new sustainable land development models hold great promise for breaking the hold of failed outdated economic ideology. According to CityscapeIntelligence, "... One of the greatest challenges is that right now we have a very low level of current knowledge about how to build sustainably in our environment... " On a more promising note, Cityscape reports that Masdar City, Abu Dhabi is planned to be a fully sustainable city which incorporates the highest quality of life with the lowest environmental footprint. Masdar City will be carbon-neutral, use only renewable energy sources, and produce zero waste.
In the United States, news of the nation's first fully eco-sustainable city has just been announced. At 41,300 acres and a new SLDI member, Florida's Destiny is ranked as one of the state's largest private land acquisitions and will create working greenspace where the ecosystem is integrated into its infrastructure in order to preserve the overall quality of the environment.
The problems - and answers - have been known for many years. It will ultimately be the visionary risk-taking land developers, the business structures we organize, the innovative technologies we use, and the quality of services we retain, that will get us there.
Your participation and comments are welcome.
Terry Mock
Executive Director
Sustainable Land Development International
www.SLDI.org
Promoting land development worldwide that balances the needs of people, planet & profit - for today and future generations.
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