There is a lot of talk about the stimulus plan. Is it stimulus? Is it spending?
Pick your terms, define them as you will.
Here's what we know:
The massive growth (building, transportation, infrastructure) occurring in many parts of the globe - China, India, petroleum-producing countries, etc. - is based on the same template on which the US has been built. There is no leapfrog in technology or in choice of energy resources being used. Europe has been much more forward thinking than the rest of us (Germany accounts for 40% of the total global solar energy use, France gets 78% of its electricity from nuclear energy, Denmark is the world's leading exporter of wind turbines and has an unemployment rate of about 2% - in part because the way it has taxed energy has helped to stimulate a whole new clean-tech industry.) There are presently not enough known traditional resources (petroleum, coal, natural gas) to support this growth. It is estimated we would need up to three earths to meet the need. The green industry (I really don't think the term "green" does justice to the scope and importance of the industry) is one that is absolutely on he brink of bursting in this country. We will almost literally need to rebuild the vast majority of our built environments to adjust to a new reality. ("In the year 2035, three-quarters of the built environments in the US will be either new or renovated." Green Building A-Z by Jerry Yudelson) If we, as a country, can position ourselves on the vanguard of this movement, the rest of the world will be knocking on our door. That translates into jobs - millions of jobs - because virtually every aspect of our way of life will be affected.
To be clear, this is a paradigm shift. (As a point of reference, it was a mere 500 years ago that we thought the earth was flat.)
Solar, wind, hydroelectric, tidal and biomass energies will be the new petroleum of our post-paradigm shift world. (Hot, Flat and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman)
Interesting Statistic: Every 20 minutes enough solar energy falls on the United State to power the entire country for a year.
Here's what I foresee:
We will soon discover that a common sense approach to energy will cease to be a trend of choice, and become the standard out of necessity.
There is a good chunk of change in the "stimulus" plan allocated to green technology.
Mark my words on this - The multiplier effect from this investment will be astounding.
There is opportunity in the solving of the problems that ail us.
These solutions will require a non-linear thought process.
Dana W. Ball
Monday, March 2, 2009
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