When I started writing Green Collar America, I did so because I felt that the green technologies and solutions that were going to make our nation and our society more sustainable represented the next great industry that would drive America’s future prosperity. According to a just released report produced by The Breakthrough Institute and The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation we are going to be buying all that technology from Asia.

Every American should read at least the “Overview” page of this report. There are 5 points on that page…here is the first:

Asia’s rising “clean technology tigers” – China, Japan, and South Korea – have already passed the United States in the production of virtually all clean energy technologies, and over the next five years, the government’s of these nations will out-invest the United States three-to-one in these sectors. This public investment gap will allow these Asian nations to attract a significant share of private sector investments in clean energy technology, estimated to total in the trillions of dollars over the next decade. While some U.S. firms will benefit from the establishment of joint ventures overseas, the jobs, tax revenues, and other benefits of clean tech growth will overwhelmingly accrue to Asia’s clean tech tigers.

That 3-to-1 investment disparity is assuming that the US Senate will pass a clean energy bill like the American Clean Energy & Security Act which the House of Representatives passed earlier this year. That is by no means a certainty, and is actually very unlikely based on what’s going on with healthcare. The outspending will be more in the ball park of 10-to-1 in that case - and it is only that close because some of the stimulus bill went to clean tech. However, we’re sending a ton of that stimulus money overseas anyway and not creating Green Collar Jobs at home - because we can’t buy cost competitive clean tech products here.

Even if we do pass such a bill the report argues that it;

includes too few proactive policy initiatives and allocates relatively little funding to support research and development, commercialization and production of clean energy technologies within the United States.

Instead, we are relying on some tax incentives and other market stimulating solutions that - in past times - have jump started innovation and moved America into a leadership position. There are a lot of good things to be said about this bill - as Representative Markey (the primary author) describes in this video

Unfortunately, the race may be over before this approach even gets us running - we have never had competition that was willing to spend half a trillion dollars to kick our ass before.

There is only one answer - we all have to get off our asses and scream at Congress until we drown out the noise from the people who JUST DON’T GET IT. We don’t have time for obstruction - we need to move and we need to move now. Unless you have another idea for a multi-trillion dollar industry that is being birthed right now and can sustain our country and our economy, call your congress person…please.

If you’re like me, you’ve often thought that we humans produce a huge amount of energy when we excerise - or just go about our daily lives. The huge majority of that energy is wasted - but perhaps not anymore. A startup out of Cleveland, Tremont Electric, just released a new kinetic energy capture device that can generate wall socket level energy just by carrying it around with you while you walk.

About the size of a flashlight and weighing in at 9 ounces, the nPower PEG (Personal Energy Generator) takes advantage of magnets and springs to capture and amplify the kinetic energy we generate when we move and turn in into enough power to recharge personal electric devices. In the short-term it seems like a dream come true for serious campers, hikers, lumberjacks - folks who spend extended periods of time outdoors and off the grid. Based on the feedback about how well these things work, it will just be a matter of time before we start seeing them integrated into appliances and products we are already carrying around with us.

The folks at Tremont are already scaling the devices up - way up - and looking at ways they can put them in buoys and use them to generate 50kW per device in lakes and the ocean to create kinetic energy from Wave Energy.

This is an idea that has needed to happen and seeing a product of this type commercialized and ready to roll-out to market is a great example of how American ingenuity will help us make up for lost time in sustainability. Now if someone will just roll-out an entire gym worth of exercise equipment that will make every health club in America carbon neutral - let’s turn all those burned calories green!

Just received an email from Van Jones (the green evangelist who wrote a book named after our website - Green Collar Economy, see right sidebar to purchase) and he was suggesting that we all watch the Discovery Channel tomorrow night (Wednesday, March 11). Here is a preview of the show.

This is a 52 second summation of the Green Collar Media philosophy and mission. Our goal is to lubricate the wheels of commerce so that the vision these people are dedicated to becomes a reality as quickly as possible. I especially love the line when the guys says “I am a capitalist, not an environmentalist”. The beauty of the time we live in is that there really is no longer a difference.

As the details of the stimulus package come to light, the New York Times claims that there is about $80 Billion in:

spending, loan guarantees and tax incentives aimed at promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, higher-mileage cars and coal that is truly clean. As a stand-alone measure, these investments would amount to the biggest energy bill in history.

Not too shabby, but the point that they make and that Green Collar Media definitely agrees with is that while this is the type of investment that is critical to jumstart job creation in the green collar economy, these measures should not be confused with an energy plan that will get us where we need to go.

In addition to this spending and incentivizing, the government will need to open up the arsenal of tools at its disposal, including a carbon cap & trade, new green building standards, tax incentives to stimulate green investment, increased mileage and emission standards for vehicles, firm and consistent subsidies for alternative energy production, as well as about 1000 other things that can be done to send clear price signals to the markets. Our belief is that the first substantive legislation addressing all of these issues will be implemented prior to the end of the Obama administration’s first term. If we’re right, hold onto your hats, because the pace of innovation and change is going to blow us all away.

Keep it tuned here as more green details from the stimulus package are clarified. I feel a lot better about burdening my children with this debt knowing that a big portion of that investment will go to getting us on the road to a green future.

It looks like there is enough momentum in both chambers of commerce (oops, Freudian slip, I meant Congress) that we may actually see a compromise energy bill passed.  In the House, Nancy Pelosi is close to bringing a bill to the floor  that includes not only the alternative energy solutions and investment we need, but also provisions for offshore oil drilling.  This includes in all areas outside of 100 miles offshore, and gives states the option of choosing to drill outside of 50 miles.

In the Senate, the so-called Gang of 20 is moving to pass some moderate legislation that also allows for increased off-shore drilling - and although this is not a short or long-term energy solution, it is more important to compromise and move forward than to sit in limbo forever.

The good news is that money from this drilling will go to help fund the alternative-energy initiatives our country so vitally needs.  So, the Republicans get to say they succeeded in making America drill for its remaining oil assets, and Democrats get to say we compromised so we can move forward in solving our energy crisis long-term.  I am good with this….let’s move on and start capitalizing on the green revolution.

I was just watching Hardball (on MSNBC)  with Mike Barnacle (a Boston-guy) sitting in for Chris Matthews.  Towards the end of the show, Barnacle asks his guests (paraphrasing) “When is one of these presidential candidates going to get specific about their energy policy and when are they going to get the guts to tell the American people the truth.   That it is going to hurt and that we are going to have to stop driving so much.”  

This seems like a reasonable question to ask, but to ask it two days after Barack Obama gave his speech on energy and announced his formal energy platform either means he is, a.) not doing his homework (at all), or, b.) actively trying to keep people from learning about it by making obtuse statements that change the conversation away from substance and towards rebuttal.  He continued this pattern with the other main point he brought up, that Obama would tax the oil companies on their windfall profits.  That he would do this to help  provide $1000 energy rebates for families unable to afford gas or heating oil was barely touched on, but plenty of time was spent on the part about how Obama hates companies that make a profit.  Mike, you can change the subject all you want, but you’re from the northeast, and you probably know people personally who are not going to be able to pay their heating bills this winter.  There are lots of working families and people on fixed income that are being hurt by these price increases and one of our presidential candidates presented his ENERGY POLICY, and American’s deserve to know what it is and how he plans to pay for it - all without partisan talking points as the main focus.   I am equally interested in learning how Senator McCain is planning on addressing this short-term issue and the much larger issue of his long-term energy policy.

I urge you all to watch or read Senator Obama’s speech, as it is vitally important.  Early on he eloquently lays out the essence of his position with this statement:

When it comes to our economy, our security, and the very future of our planet, the choices we make in November and over the next few years will shape the next decade, if not the century. And central to all of these major challenges is the question of what we will do about our addiction to foreign oil.

OK, that is exactly what we want and need to hear.  What’s more important than our economy, our security and our planet?  The fact that energy policy can positively impact all three is why Green is going to help America get its Mojo back and is why I started Green Collar Media.  He makes it clear that there are some short term pains that need to be addressed due to the price spike and he makes the following suggestions:

1. Provide $1000 energy rebate to every working family in America (to be paid for by windfall profits tax, as mentioned earlier by Mr. Barnacle)
2. Increased domestic oil production
3. Not opening up new areas to drilling but making the oil companies drill on the 68 million acres they already have, or give up their leases to someone who will
4. Increasing shale oil extraction
5. Drilling in a portion of Alaska (not ANWR)
6. Releasing 70 Million barrels of oil from the strategic reserve to bring prices down quickly

He states, though, that these are short-term fixes and in no way address or solve our addiction to foreign oil which is so poisoning our nation.

…breaking our oil addiction is one of the greatest challenges our generation will ever face. It will take nothing less than a complete transformation of our economy. This transformation will be costly, and given the fiscal disaster we will inherit from the last Administration, it will likely require us to defer some other priorities.

It is also a transformation that will require more than just a few government programs. Energy independence will require an all-hands-on-deck effort from America — effort from our scientists and entrepreneurs; from businesses and from every American citizen. Factories will have to re-tool and re-design. Businesses will need to find ways to emit less carbon dioxide. All of us will need to buy more of the fuel-efficient cars built by this state, and find new ways to improve efficiency and save energy in our own homes and businesses.

This will not be easy. And it will not happen overnight. And if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, they are either fooling themselves or trying to fool you.

If that is not a presidential candidate telling us the truth, than I cannot imagine what that could possibly look like.  Mr. Barnacle, you owe this guy an apology.

He goes on to outline 3 main steps that he would take as president to help America succeed in meeting these challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities it will create:

1. Help American car companies create the next generation of electric-hybrid vehicles that get 150 miles to the gallon and get 1 Million of them on the road within six years.  To do this, he suggests investing in advance battery technology, leverage private sector funding to bring the products to market, but offer a $7000 tax rebate for purchasers of the new cars.
2. Require that 10% of our energy come from renewable sources by the end of his first term.  Tax breaks, incentives, funding for entrepreneurs…all the stuff you would expect, but hey…they work.
3. Start a nationwide conservation effort.  He wants America to use 15% less energy by the end of the next decade.  This is the easiest and most cost effective thing we can do and it will save us $130 Billion a year if we can pull it off.   He wants to make national building efficiency standards so that new buildings will be 50% more efficient within 4 years, and based on California’s success, change the ways that utilities get paid by compensating them on how much energy they save, not how much they sell.

This is a substantive and well thought out stance on the most important strategic decision of our time.   I’ll let Senator Obama’s optimistic words, which capture my own beliefs, sum up his policy.

But I know we can do this. We can do this because we are Americans. We do the improbable. We beat great odds. We rally together to meet whatever challenge stands in our way. That’s what we’ve always done — and it’s what we must do now. For the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we must end the age of oil in our time.

Game On!  Senator McCain - you have your work cut out for you.

Finally my home state it taking a leadership role. With Governor Deval Patrick leading the charge on one of his signature issues, Massachusetts just passed a landmark energy bill that puts the state in a clear leadership position when it comes to energy policy. Thank goodness.

Among the attributes of the bill, according to today’s Boston Globe:

A requirement for utilities to invest in energy efficiency when it is cheaper to do so than it is to buy power.

 Utilities would have to enter into 10- or 15-year contracts with renewable energy developers, an effort to help those developers get financing from banks.

(A_ provision that lifts a prohibition on utilities owning solar electric panels and allows them to rent the panels to customers. The law is designed to allow utilities to recoup the cost of panels over time from rental fees while the customers reap energy savings.

By 2030, utilities would (be required to) buy 25 percent of their power from renewables.

The creation of “Green Communities.” The state will commit $10 million annually to help communities figure out ways to become more energy efficient or invest in renewables, including giving them no-interest loans.

These are all good things.  When I bought my new house a few years ago, we knew we would need to replace the systems (60 year old steam boiler and no A/C).  We looked into wind, solar, heat pumps, and although there was some support from the state, the premium was so cost prohibitive that it was unrealistic.  We were running ROI numbers that looked as if it would take 25 years to recoup the extra cost.  Unfortunately, that was completely unrealistic for us.  With this new approach, we are going to be taking a look again.

Way to go Massachusetts.  I know that you are all a bunch of northeastern, liberal elites, but this aggressive new law is just about the best “Independence” day present I could have hoped for.  Definitely generating some mojo here.