When it comes to America's financial crisis, there's plenty of blame to go around. You don't have to dig far into the toxic sludge of bad credit, soaring deficits, fiscal mismanagement, and deregulation to see that all of it blends together to form a really big mess. And, you don't need a PhD in economics to know that the financial market meltdown is a warning sign that America's economy is in desperate need of an overhaul.
Leaders of nations, just like executives of financial institutions, are responsible for understanding and responding to new market signals. And as we've learned in the last few months, when they don't, the economies of great nations -- just like the credit worthiness of corporate giants -- can crumble with frightening speed.
Which brings me to the biggest emerging market opportunity of our lifetime. That, of course, is the opportunity to galvanize American technology, workers, ingenuity, and courage to do something truly great -- building a clean energy, good jobs, made in America economy that will power our nation forward in the 21st century.
Clean energy isn't a mirage. It's the fastest growing industrial sector in the United States. It is already generating $25 billion a year in sales and revenue, is growing at 30 percent a year, and has produced more than 500,000 new American jobs over the last three years. And that's happened with almost no support from the federal government.
Imagine the growth in jobs, technology, equipment, suppliers, and productivity if the United States actually treated the development of clean energy as a national economic priority. And consider just as seriously the remarkable benefits to America's security, environment, economic stability, and communities that would be realized by keeping at home the nearly $400 billion that we send each year to foreign nations, many hostile to our interests, to import their oil.
It's time for America to quit bailing and to start building. That's why the Apollo Alliance this month unveiled The New Apollo Program, a comprehensive clean energy, job generating strategy to restore America's economic strength. This 10 year, $500 billion investment plan aims to create 5 million jobs while helping to solve the climate crisis, the energy crisis, and the economic crisis facing our nation. Recalling President John F. Kennedy's bold commitment to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960's, the Alliance is taking its plan to town hall meetings across the nation to build the popular support that will help President-elect Obama and Congress launch America toward a clean energy future.
The New Apollo Program calls for a sweeping set of actions -- from bold commitments to energy efficiency to dramatic increases in the use of renewable energy to reinvigorating our manufacturing base to building advanced fuel-efficient vehicles -- to put Americans back to work here at home. And, it renews our nation's historic commitment to innovation, research and development, science, and workforce training and education.
Unlike the nation's first Apollo mission, this one isn't rocket science. We can put hundreds of thousands of Americans to work right away by retrofitting the buildings in this country that consume nearly 70% of our electricity and are responsible for almost 40% of our carbon emissions; constructing public transit systems to connect our neighborhoods and cities; building a smart grid to recapture some of the $20 billion we lose each year to transmission inefficiency; and using the sun and the wind to generate clean electricity for our homes and businesses.
Our current economic crisis has reminded us once again that financial engineering and manipulation are not substitutes for long term investment and job creation. The time to change course is now.
People need jobs and relief from high energy costs. Our dependence on oil is putting our nation's security at risk. Foreign competitors are moving rapidly to exploit the opportunities offered by clean energy. We can seize the opportunity to become the leader of a new global green economy. We're Americans. Let's do it.
Phil Angelides is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Apollo Alliance, a national coalition of labor, environmental, business, and community leaders committed to building a clean energy, good jobs economy.
Follow Phil Angelides on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ApolloAlliance
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What on earth would you suggest as an alternative new industry for creating 1 million plus new jobs that could be implemented immediately? You know jobs that can not be outsourced to India or China!
haven't we had enough of the "trickle down" pyramid schemes? the Big Energy monopolies? their ratepayer hijacking? supply and pricing manipulatIons? their forcing families from their homes, erecting massive, privately owned infrastructure at 100% our cost on our public lands, and their totally mercenary business and environmental models? how can we justify the enormous destruction wrought on our open spaces by Big Wind and Big Solar, just to line the pockets of crooks like Pickens when 40 countries alread have very successful Feed in Tariff programs, so that PEOPLE get checks for clean power, instead of giant, rapacious monopolies?
i'm sick of hearing the same lousy, destructive, 19th century models with new ribbons strung on them by new investors. time for a revolution, energy independence and democracy, merging with cleaning up the planet, and conservation of resources. local, point of use solutions, feed in tariffs, and NO MORE BIG ENERGY. PERIOD.
In order to have the biggest impact on greenhouse gas emissions we will need large capitalization projects to feed power into highly populated areas and into industrial plants and manufacturing facilities.
The last thing we want to happen to renewable energy is that we go in full steam, create a short term success and then fade out and kill the whole thing because of lack of interest.
People, know your history. This is not an auspicious reference.
Actually that is the first thing that happened to renewable energy. This country grew a vibrant renewable energy industry between 1975 and 1980 as a result of high energy costs combined with Carter administration incentives. The price of energy went down, Reagan took over and let the incentives lapse, and most of those renewable energy businesses died.
It's the last thing we want to happen again.
The old ways are often very reassuring on the surface. But think a little deeper. If the world really is changing - and the spent coal, oil and other reserves aren't about to come back in a hurry - then we have to make some radical new plans.
:-)
Please, no government interference in green tech!
By which I mean, do you happen to have some of those green jobs lying around down there at the Apollo Alliance? Because I could sure use one before my life's savings vanish and my house gets foreclosed.