Winning the Future. That’s the Obama Administration’s new theme, new priority, and my new friend. Why? Because President Obama spoke at Penn State University and added something to the new phrase: Winning the Future with Clean Energy.
During his speech at PSU, Obama hit on many similar points that he made during his State of the Union address. He wants to out innovate, out educate and out build every other nation. That is the way to win the future. But, this speech was addressing innovation.
“…right now, some of the most promising innovation is happening in the area of clean energy technology -- technology that is creating jobs, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and -- something that every young person here cares about -- making sure our planet is a healthier place to live that we can pass on to future generations.”
Jobs…check, Better national security…check, and a Cleaner planet…check. Where are we going wrong with this plan? There has to be a catch right? Well of course there is. This plan is going to cost money. It’s going to cost our country serious brain power. It’s going to cost a lot of support around an idea. That idea: Winning the future is becoming the leader in clean energy technology.
With all the discussion of debt and deficits, how can Obama be asking for us to spend a bunch of money? I’ll let him answer that question:
“Now, tax credits mean lost revenue for Treasury. It costs money. Since we’ve got big deficits, we’ve got to pay for it. So to pay for it, I’ve asked Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars that we currently give to oil companies. They are doing just fine on their own. So it’s time to stop subsidizing yesterday’s energy; it’s time to invest in tomorrow’s.”
This is one of the most important initiatives that could support the Obama administration’s plans. Most people don’t realize (even though now I think with Obama stressing it, more will realize) that oil companies get billions of taxpayer support. American taxpayers subsidize the dirty fuels we burn. That’s why I laugh when I hear that we should let wind and solar compete on the free market to prove themselves, then we’ll make more use of them. How? We don’t have a free market right now!
But one idea according to President Obama that he said may not be “too sexy” at first, is energy efficiency. But making our buildings, our homes, and our businesses more energy efficient is the way consumers take control of their energy bills. Obama pointed that out:
“But listen, our homes and our businesses consume 40 percent of the energy we use. Think about that. Everybody focuses on cars and gas prices, and that’s understandable. But our homes and our businesses use 40 percent of the energy. They contribute to 40 percent of the carbon pollution that we produce and that is contributing to climate change. It costs us billions of dollars in energy bills. They waste huge amounts of energy. So the good news is we can change all that. Making our buildings more energy-efficient is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to save money, combat pollution and create jobs right here in the United States of America. And that's what we’re going to do.”
Speaking at PSU was a great scene for Obama to address the youth, or the next generation that will have to meet these goals. He spoke to the Joe Paterno fans in a way they would surely understand. “We need you to be as proud of what you do in the lab as you are of what your football team does on the field,” said Obama.
Bottom line: The innovation that will come from giving clean energy a market will be what brings costs down. That’s what always brings the cost of any product or service down. Creating this advantage in the United States will be what puts us in the lead globally. The Obama administration is stepping up to the challenge of pointing that out and supporting the inventors and scientists working to win the future. Clean energy is the future. Let’s go team!
No comments:
Post a Comment