Rabbit Valley Road

Wall Street Journal takes the bait — Does Green Energy Add 5 Million Jobs?

President-elect Barack Obama and his energy advisers have been making the case that a multibillion-dollar government investment in everything from wind turbines to a “smart” electrical grid is just what’s needed to help revive the economy. The lure is millions of government-subsidized “green jobs.”

While I was openly critical of the McCain/Palin agenda, I never thought that Obama’s energy plan was that much better. At best, his plan was cohesive and cognizant of the challenges we face as the world’s largest energy consumer. At worst, it was a little vague.

According to the WSJ piece, there is quite a bit of internal disagreement about what a Green Stimulus should look like. I think that’s a fair criticism. His current policy is driven largely by environmentalism, which is great (really), but it doesn’t provide an impetus to move forward with serious action. The environment is only one-half of the equation, and as the core focus, it often fosters dialog without a strong center.

If we start framing the issue as a question of domestic and economic security, we will find much broader support across a lot of previously-closed, political boundaries. And yes, the politics matter. Ideally, a Green Stimulus will focus on longterm strategy rather than the quick eco-fix:

1. Infrastructure: A National Power Grid along the lines of the interstate system to improve electric transmission across different regions. Fund the infrastructure, and let start-ups & state governments worry with clean-tech and smart grid implementation.

2. Moderate Tax Reform: Either Cap & Trade or a Carbon Tax coupled with a price floor on fossil fuel. Our current energy markets are not free. And until they are held accountable for the full cost of burning fossil fuel, they never will be. And clean-tech can’t realistically compete against the monolithic fossil fuel industry without a clear price signal.

3. Nuclear Power: Carbon combustion works because it produces a lot of energy with a relatively low input. Of existing technologies, nuclear is the only one that can produce a large amount of energy on the same scale as fossil fuel. But nuclear is neither safe nor clean at the present moment. Continued research & development in the field could help position nuclear as the heart of a clean-energy system.

Finally, I tend to view deficit spending with a very critical eye. I don’t question its merits because there are some instances where it has worked. But the approach harbors inherent risk (massive inflation for example). If a Green Stimulus is indeed the course the Obama administration chooses, I hope they will pursue it with moderation and a cautious eye towards securing America’s energy interests — and not because the word ‘Green’ is a buzzword for the Left.