StimPack. Sounds like something you'd get at the physical therapist's office or pick up at the pharmacy to get off some addiction. It's actually the short-hand name inside the beltway types are giving the new Stimulus Package that the President and Congress are preparing for the struggling (drowning?) economy.
Sounds like the basic outlines of the bill are already in place. There is a lot of good measures to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. I applaud that whole-heartedly. Where I get the heartburn is knowing that the massive Federal financial injection is going to end up in the hands probably exclusively of large, Fortune 500 type businesses. There will be no crumbs for the little guys.
The thing that really irks me is that leaders of both parties are constantly talking about "small businesses" in America. How we are the engines of growth and innovation, the doers, the risk takers. You'd think all this lip service to small businesses would translate to real dollars when StimPack comes around. You'd be wrong.
Let's take one example. There is an excellant provision to provide loan guarentees for renewable energy projects. Sounds great. Problem is that a small business will have extreme difficulty accesing that, or any other loan guarentee. See, we don't have the paid lawyers, lobbyists, or government procurement staff that the big companies do. We don't have the ability to devote countless hours to navigating the Federal waters like the big guys do. We don't have the ready access to large capital that the Fortune 500 companies do.
Yet, I believe that money given to small businesses has a direct impact on the local economies where those businesses are located. Instead of giving billions to large companies, how about giving billions to small businesses? I know what the impact of a loan guarentee or even a direct financial infusion would have on Clean Currents. We'd immediately hire people, spend money right here in the DC area, and invest in renewable energy projects. Money wouldn't sit on our balance sheets as it would with large companies. It would be directly injected into the local economy.
So, here comes StimPack. Hopefully it will work. And if it's not too late, maybe there can be a carve out for small businesses. After all, we are the engine that drives the economy.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Let's Give Carbon Tax a Whirl
With the new President and Congress getting set to (finally!) tackle climate change, the mainstream commentariat seems to be almost exclusively focusing on what is called a "cap and trade" system, whereby the overall level of greenhouse gas emissions is capped, but polluters who can't meet the cap have options to trade for credits or allowances. Very few are talking about the easiest, most direct way to change the market and lower greenhouse gas emissions - a carbon tax. Now, out of the blue, or should I say, out of the sludge and muck, comes word that Exxon Mobil has come out in favor of a carbon tax! This is, after all, the company that spent years and millions of dollars funding bogus "research" to say climate change is a myth. So, should we view this as a dastardly plot to trick people into supporting a carbon tax or should we take them at their word and try to pass legislation (with their support?).
I say give it a whirl.
Many economists believe a carbon tax is the best way to attack climate change. There is no need to create a complicated trading scheme, nor is there any room for gaming the system. It's a very straight forward approach - a tax on carbon emissions. Yes, this would impact our gas prices, and electricity prices... but that's a good thing. We need loud and clear price signals to make the market work. This is what happened earlier in 2008. When gas prices skyrocketed, sales of gas hogging SUVs dropped. Now that gas prices are lowering, sales of gas hogging SUVs are increasing. I'm not an economist, but even I can see the relationship there!
Politically, some people are afraid to death of the word, "tax." But I have more faith in the American people. They understand the need to stop climate change and know that some things must change. Setting a strong price signal will allow clean energy and green tech companies to invest in growth without fear of too-low fossil fuel prices.
And heck, maybe the folks at Exxon Mobil will actually lobby for it!
I say give it a whirl.
Many economists believe a carbon tax is the best way to attack climate change. There is no need to create a complicated trading scheme, nor is there any room for gaming the system. It's a very straight forward approach - a tax on carbon emissions. Yes, this would impact our gas prices, and electricity prices... but that's a good thing. We need loud and clear price signals to make the market work. This is what happened earlier in 2008. When gas prices skyrocketed, sales of gas hogging SUVs dropped. Now that gas prices are lowering, sales of gas hogging SUVs are increasing. I'm not an economist, but even I can see the relationship there!
Politically, some people are afraid to death of the word, "tax." But I have more faith in the American people. They understand the need to stop climate change and know that some things must change. Setting a strong price signal will allow clean energy and green tech companies to invest in growth without fear of too-low fossil fuel prices.
And heck, maybe the folks at Exxon Mobil will actually lobby for it!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
If it Can Happen in Blacksburg
It's happening in Blacksburg, Virginia. That means it can happen anywhere in the country. Blacksburg is a sleepy town among rolling hills hours away from the nearest city. It's home to Virginia Tech and the folks there are mighty proud of their Hokies. But it is not a town usually associated with progressive, green minded citizens or businesses. Now that's changing. I was there for a conference hosted by the Virginia Sustainable Building Network the other day and I ran into a gentleman named Pat Bixler. Pat is the Executive Director of a group called, "Sustainable Blacksburg." As it says on their web site, "Sustainable Blacksburg is a non-profit community organization which facilitates effective environmental stewardship in the Blacksburg area to enhance the region’s livability and economic vitality by reducing its impact on the local and global environment." But it's really so much more than that. Sustainable Blacksburg represents to me the next step in the greening of the American mind. Sure, Takoma Park, Catonsville, and Arlington have been doing green for years. There is a lot to be proud of in those parts. But to get this country to turn the corner and embrace a sustainable lifestyle, free of the threat of climate change and pollution requires the mainstreaming of all things green. It can't be just for progressives in the "blue" areas. There's hope. It's happening in Blacksburg. And if it's happening in Blacksburg, why not Lexington, or Fredericksburg, or Frederick?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Montgomery County Shines Again
Montgomery County, Maryland is once again offering consumers a "reward" for going green and I for one could not be happier about it. The County's Clean Energy Rewards Program has been renewed with some new improved rules voted on by the County Council. Right now, businesses, non profits, and residents who buy clean energy from certified vendors will get a reward of 1/2 cent for each kilowatt hour of clean energy purchased. This may not sound like much, but I am hard pressed to name a single county, city or state in the entire United States that is taking this kind of innovative approach to fighting climate change through clean energy solutions.
Hats off once again to County Council Members George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, Nancy Floreen and the others who supported this!
I am proud to say that I played a very direct role in changing the rules of the Program.
The initial incarnation of the Program only allowed regional clean energy sources to count, and it capped the non residential award at a mere 100,000 kWh annually. While I strongly supported the bill, I lobbied to change the rules. Now, my plan is being implemented. The new Program now allows national clean energy sources to qualify and raises the cap to 400,000 kWh annually. This means that the clean energy is cheaper and the Reward larger for small businesses. This was a victory for our Clean Currents customers in the County who now qualify for the Reward and will get real savings as a result. It will enable Clean Currents to more broadly market clean energy to the hundreds of small businesses in the County who might otherwise be priced out of the market. From a climate change perspective, of course, the changes have no impact. The environmental benefit (with regards to carbon) will be the same no matter where we get the clean energy from.
Clean Currents may be the only company in the entire state of Maryland that lobbies on behalf of environmental legislation shoulder to shoulder with the leading environmental advocacy groups. We won a victory in Montgomery County, and with your continued support can win victories elsewhere in the state.
Hats off once again to County Council Members George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, Nancy Floreen and the others who supported this!
I am proud to say that I played a very direct role in changing the rules of the Program.
The initial incarnation of the Program only allowed regional clean energy sources to count, and it capped the non residential award at a mere 100,000 kWh annually. While I strongly supported the bill, I lobbied to change the rules. Now, my plan is being implemented. The new Program now allows national clean energy sources to qualify and raises the cap to 400,000 kWh annually. This means that the clean energy is cheaper and the Reward larger for small businesses. This was a victory for our Clean Currents customers in the County who now qualify for the Reward and will get real savings as a result. It will enable Clean Currents to more broadly market clean energy to the hundreds of small businesses in the County who might otherwise be priced out of the market. From a climate change perspective, of course, the changes have no impact. The environmental benefit (with regards to carbon) will be the same no matter where we get the clean energy from.
Clean Currents may be the only company in the entire state of Maryland that lobbies on behalf of environmental legislation shoulder to shoulder with the leading environmental advocacy groups. We won a victory in Montgomery County, and with your continued support can win victories elsewhere in the state.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Taking the Long Term View
I am not going to try to pretend to fully understand the financial meltdown that is hitting Wall Street and the rest of the nation. I'll leave that to the pundits. But I do know that this nation seems trapped in the vice grip of short term thinking. And it is short term thinking, with an emphasis on profit or loss today(!) that appears to be at the heart of this recent calamity, plus a lot of other financial implosions. Unfortunately, it is this very same short thinking mentality that prevents us from solving our climate challenge.
Climate change is the deadliest of problems for Americans because it hits at our biggest weakness - inability to confront a challenge until it is right upon us. The build up of carbon in our atmosphere occurs slowly over time, but once it hits a certain tipping point, we are doomed to catastrophic consequences in our ecosystem and hence in our entire way of life. We can't see the carbon coming out of the tailpipes of our cars and power plants. It's hard to measure in a way that people can comprehend. Unlike the movie, "The Day After Tomorrow," there is not likely to be a single massive event that everyone can point to as evidence that the climate has passed the tipping point. So, how do we solve a problem that is long-term and not visible, or easily understood by the average person?
Long term thinking. We have to make investments in clean energy, in energy efficiency, and yes, in adaptation, today with the thought that these investments may not pay off for several years. We need to break the chains of short term thinking. Maybe the Wall Street meltdown is enough of a wake up call. Maybe our leadership will finally understand that we need policies in place that go beyond the next election cycle. We need fundamental change that will last a generation. The beauty of investments in a clean energy infrastructure are that they provide jobs today. They put this country back to work. In the short term, that will provide a needed lift. In the long term, the clean energy economy will solve climate change.
Climate change is the deadliest of problems for Americans because it hits at our biggest weakness - inability to confront a challenge until it is right upon us. The build up of carbon in our atmosphere occurs slowly over time, but once it hits a certain tipping point, we are doomed to catastrophic consequences in our ecosystem and hence in our entire way of life. We can't see the carbon coming out of the tailpipes of our cars and power plants. It's hard to measure in a way that people can comprehend. Unlike the movie, "The Day After Tomorrow," there is not likely to be a single massive event that everyone can point to as evidence that the climate has passed the tipping point. So, how do we solve a problem that is long-term and not visible, or easily understood by the average person?
Long term thinking. We have to make investments in clean energy, in energy efficiency, and yes, in adaptation, today with the thought that these investments may not pay off for several years. We need to break the chains of short term thinking. Maybe the Wall Street meltdown is enough of a wake up call. Maybe our leadership will finally understand that we need policies in place that go beyond the next election cycle. We need fundamental change that will last a generation. The beauty of investments in a clean energy infrastructure are that they provide jobs today. They put this country back to work. In the short term, that will provide a needed lift. In the long term, the clean energy economy will solve climate change.
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Big Issue
With less than 60 days left until the election, we are about to witness an intense barrage of political talk from both parties. At the conventions in Denver and Minneapolis, we heard hours and hours of talk about each candidate's vision for the future of this country. I am not here to take sides in the election (you can check out my facebook page to see that!), but I am taking the side of fighting climate change now, not in ten or twenty years. Now.
One could be excused for thinking that we have reached the tipping point in the United States regarding the need to fight climate change with clean energy. After all, the past four years has seen every major magazine (Time, Newsweek, etc), newspaper and broadcast news program prominently feature global climate change. Al Gore's movie won the Academy Award, was a huge hit with millions of viewers. The former VP and the international scientific group that coordinates studies on global climate change won the Nobel Peace Prize. Hurricane Katrina showed people the very real danger of climate change. The Polar Bear is being listed as a threatened species from Arctic ice loss. Executives from some of the largest corporations in the country have written and spoken repeatedly about the need to address carbon emissions.
In short, it seemed the time for action had finally arrived.
Thus, my total disappointment and frankly, shock, that global climate change apparently disappeared completely from one party's convention. There was not a single mention of the need or a plan to fight global climate change by the GOP's nominees during their acceptance speech at their convention. It's as if the last four years didn't happen and we are back to the bad old days of 2000, when global climate change was an issue way down the priority list at best. The Sunday morning talk shows and the political pundits on television seemingly don't bring up the issue of global climate change when talking to the candidates or their surrogates.
This issue is too important to have one party own it. We need all major American parties to work together now on solutions. There are Republicans like Arnold Schwarzenegger and others who are showing amazing leadership. We as a country need to ensure that these kinds of leaders have a seat at their own party's table, and that we all work together to solve this challenge.
Take action - write a letter to the Editor of your paper, contact both Presidential campaigns, let people know that global climate change is the biggest challenge of our generation. Let them know that you demand action, and that you want to hear their plans for how to create a cleaner, greener future. Don't let the media or the politicians off the hook. This is the big issue of our time. Silence is not an acceptable answer.
One could be excused for thinking that we have reached the tipping point in the United States regarding the need to fight climate change with clean energy. After all, the past four years has seen every major magazine (Time, Newsweek, etc), newspaper and broadcast news program prominently feature global climate change. Al Gore's movie won the Academy Award, was a huge hit with millions of viewers. The former VP and the international scientific group that coordinates studies on global climate change won the Nobel Peace Prize. Hurricane Katrina showed people the very real danger of climate change. The Polar Bear is being listed as a threatened species from Arctic ice loss. Executives from some of the largest corporations in the country have written and spoken repeatedly about the need to address carbon emissions.
In short, it seemed the time for action had finally arrived.
Thus, my total disappointment and frankly, shock, that global climate change apparently disappeared completely from one party's convention. There was not a single mention of the need or a plan to fight global climate change by the GOP's nominees during their acceptance speech at their convention. It's as if the last four years didn't happen and we are back to the bad old days of 2000, when global climate change was an issue way down the priority list at best. The Sunday morning talk shows and the political pundits on television seemingly don't bring up the issue of global climate change when talking to the candidates or their surrogates.
This issue is too important to have one party own it. We need all major American parties to work together now on solutions. There are Republicans like Arnold Schwarzenegger and others who are showing amazing leadership. We as a country need to ensure that these kinds of leaders have a seat at their own party's table, and that we all work together to solve this challenge.
Take action - write a letter to the Editor of your paper, contact both Presidential campaigns, let people know that global climate change is the biggest challenge of our generation. Let them know that you demand action, and that you want to hear their plans for how to create a cleaner, greener future. Don't let the media or the politicians off the hook. This is the big issue of our time. Silence is not an acceptable answer.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Keeping it in Perspective
I just had the good fortune to travel to Rocky Mountain National Park this past week. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate this nation's birthday than to experience and appreciate the natural beauty that is our inheritance. As I stood near a lake 10,000 feet above sea level and looked at a glacier a mere 100 meters away, I thought about the fact that this glacier was around when George Washington won at Yorktown. It was around when Nero fiddled while Rome burned. It was around while the great Library of Alexandria flourished, while Plato taught, while David ruled over the Kingdom of Israel. The glacier was in existance when the first human being achieved consciousness. Our lives, our hopes and dreams are but a blink in the eye to the life of this majestic glacier. And now it is on course to completely disappear. In our lifetime possibly. That is the impact of global warming. It is not some far off problem to be handled when things are more convenient. It is a problem we created that is changing our entire eco system right now.
The Rocky Mountains are not just beautiful to look at. The glaciers and snow pack they contain are crucial to the lives of the animals, plants and yes, humans in the region. Boulder, Colorado's beautiful creek, which flows right through the town is fed by the ice melt. Without those glaciers, there is no ice melt.
Our planet is in peril. It behooves all of us to take a minute and to see first hand the damage we are causing right now through our addiction to fossil fuels. Wildfires, draughts, habitat loss - it is happening all around us, and we can see global warming up close, if we only take a moment to look.
The Rocky Mountains are not just beautiful to look at. The glaciers and snow pack they contain are crucial to the lives of the animals, plants and yes, humans in the region. Boulder, Colorado's beautiful creek, which flows right through the town is fed by the ice melt. Without those glaciers, there is no ice melt.
Our planet is in peril. It behooves all of us to take a minute and to see first hand the damage we are causing right now through our addiction to fossil fuels. Wildfires, draughts, habitat loss - it is happening all around us, and we can see global warming up close, if we only take a moment to look.
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