The choices facing us are stark. One option, the one I favor, is to free ourselves of both fossil fuels and the political influence bought with fossil fuel money.
We must invest in new technology and renewable energy because new American jobs depend on it. China has now jumped ahead to become the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines and solar panels - they are adding 100,000 new jobs a year in renewable energy as a result.
We could have what China has, too, but not going at things the way we have been.
We should be leading that revolution in sustainable energy. We are told that the "preproduction costs" for renewable energy projects are extremely high and that many commercial companies are reluctant to invest heavily in projects from which they may not see any profits for a decade. Government policies for renewables are shifting sands and a stark contrast to the solid, steady support fossil fuel lobbyist dollars have purchased over the years.
Appalachian State University here in the 5th District is a leading institution for research and implementation of renewable energy systems. The Wind Center at ASU is doing practical and useful research in small scale residential wind generators. Other departments at ASU are contributing research and demonstration projects on a wide array of sustainable practices, including the Energy Center, the Sustainable Development graduate program, and the Appropriate Technologies department. There should be an easily usable path to bring new technology into the field. That isn’t a criticism of what the university does now - we just need to fund those activities like our nation’s future depends on it.
Although many Republicans join many Democrats in both advocating for renewable energy and actually implementing sustainable practices in their own lives, so far the U.S. Congress seems timid and hamstrung by fossil fuel interests. The people themselves are trying to lead in areas such as voluntary green building and the local foods movement, which are both environmentally sound and economically energizing. Green activities like these always create local jobs from greenhouse tending to the high paying technical positions that come when a university is enabled to transfer technology via an appropriately funded incubator.
A green economy will not emerge without leadership and partnerships by government, industry, and academia.That leadership and those partnerships will never develop without trust on all sides. Trust in government and business are at an all time low. Regulation must be put in place first, then reputation will begin to be restored.
As a candidate for Congress, I would naturally like to see government take a strong, sensible leadership role, invest in our future freedom from imported resources and fossil fuels, and insist that corporate America join us in making both a sustainable world and a renewable economy that is healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Getting to this future will take Congressional courage that’s in short supply at the moment. Virginia Foxx, the incumbent Congresswoman in the 5th District, has consistently said NO to any and every initiative offered by government. She does not think government should be involved in anything other than a strong national defense. As an extreme "free-market Republican," she even voted against the federal school lunch program and would not support the bi-partisan Blue Ridge Parkway Protection Act, which pumped $75 million into the local economy to preserve up to 50,000 acres along the most visited roadway of the East Coast.
We’ve already proven that the federal government works as both the lender and consumer of last resort when the banking system goes out of control. Wall Street melted down during the 1930s and out of that misery we forged the Rural Electrification Administration, the Works Progress Administration, and Social Security. We need to put the same sort of attention on our joblessness problem that we did in the 1930s, meld this with energy efficiency and production, and rebuild our economy on a solid foundation.
EnergizeUS is a coalition of candidates across the country talking about how we can reenergize our economy, put Americans back to work in good paying jobs and lessen our dependence on foreign oil but creating jobs in the areas of renewable energy resources and energy efficiency. Candidates of the coalition are: David Cozad (TX-06), Raul Grijalva (AZ-07),Jim Holbert (KY-05), Billy Kennedy (NC-5), David Gill (IL-15), Lance Enderle (MI-08), Rodney Glassman (AZ-Sen), Cheryl Hudspeth (KS-02),Lainey Melnick (TX-21), Kevin Bradley (CO-05),Jerry Policoff (PA St House 41), and Michael Puhr (IL St House 104).
You can learn more about the coalition at EnergizeUS.org & you can join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.
If you can afford to, please show these candidates some love on ActBlue.