Green States Not Red and Blue States

Maybe it's time to start talking about "green" states and what they have in common, rather than about red and blue states and what divides them. This is the issue that can and should reach beyond partisan issues and be based on solid facts, and business and social principles - not politics. Call me naïve, call me an idealist but I feel the winds of change.

Al Gore came with the facts, the passion and a message of change. He set the stage so that California could pass the landmark Global Warming bill that challenges this country to take on the battle of carbon emission control. Now it is time to spread the gospel to each and every state throughout the country. The heavy lifting has been done. The American people are getting the facts.

So let's start our own green map and forget about the political rhetoric or red or blue states. Everything is at stake. We need to change the debate, the language, and the discussion. We need to engage the states to pass legislation and create programs that foster innovation. We need to create incentives for private enterprise.

If one takes a giant step back, and considers the different ways to influence climate control then several alternatives emerge involving state programs modeled on the work done in California together with the potential for federal support of "green" industries, state programs and private industry subsidies. Consider tax incentives, programs for research, a "job core" for the retraining of the unemployed and under employed... and it gets exciting. We are talking about opportunities for real economic progress as we fight the common enemy of global warming.

I think the most pragmatic and perhaps accessible pathway right now --- is a state-by-state program lead by the Governors and individual state legislators. Then if we are lucky enough for Senator Boxer to chair the all powerful Congressional Senate committee on the environment - we have given her something to work with. Mix in some leadership from private industry and we have a winning solution.

In this way, we are hedging our bets, moving forward and potentially laying the groundwork for collaboration between the states, the Congress and private industry. We are not sitting on the sidelines and relying on the Congress to lead the charge, but rather giving the power back to the states and the people to light the way.

In California, the pioneering work involved conciliation and compromise. Let's see if we can take a page out of this play book and learn from it. It is rare that a Democratic group of legislators here could agree on anything, but they did. And further, it was unheard of that a Republican governor and his staff would find a way to hammer in their compromises and pass this Global Warming bill into law in 2006. It happened and many diehards think too much was given away - but it is a place from which we can begin.

Bravo again to former Vice President Al Gore who made this a front and center issue, and brought it to the public in a format that was easy to understand and embrace. It is because of his efforts that these politicians had little to lose by getting on the bandwagon. In fact, they had everything to gain.

It was not enough that New Orleans almost sunk into the sea.

It was not enough that the wildfires raged over the summer.

It was not enough that storms brewed, hurricanes ravaged, tornadoes and floods struck.

It was not enough because it took someone with straight talk to bring this message home. This is about having a world in which there is prosperity, hope and a future... a place where we will not fight wars for oil. Amen.

Thank you oh great Yoda! We owe you Al Gore on this one.

This could be the healing message. Global warming is something that we can all touch and feel. It is palpable. It touches each and every one of us.

So it is up to us to reach across party lines, work with each and every Governor and get bills like California's passed in 2006 and 2007.

We need to take care of business in our own backyards, and bring a majority of states to the table whether they are red or blue -- and turn them all green. It is this type of collaboration that may bring us back together and get us beyond the political rhetoric of Washington, DC. This is the opportunity to embrace values that look forward instead of back; encourage finance and build new, sustainable industries that provide new jobs; and revitalize a country with a mission and purpose to not only survive, but again lead the world.