Daniel M. Kammen
(originally published as “An American Voice for the Clean Energy Century: The Innovation Agenda,” in Our Planet, Dec. 2008)
Retooling the global economy for a low-carbon and environmentally responsible future must begin immediately - and a major new United States initiative in this area is vital. The recent downturn in the economy makes this change all the more necessary: energy efficiency and renewable energy can be an engine of dramatic new economic growth and job creation. It will be up to the incoming president to marshal public and industry sentiment behind such a reinvestment in our future.
We are at last seeing a global explosion of financial and political interest in energy, focused largely – but, ominously, not exclusively - on clean energy. In addition, to solar, wind and other low-carbon sources, investments in some of the most CO2-intensive sources are also on the rise. Innovation is the life-blood of economic growth and renewal. It has been known for decades that the bulk of new growth results from the invention, and re-invention, of new scientific and technological opportunities. Over 50 years ago Economics Nobel Laureate Robert Solow concluded that over 90% of new economic growth results from public and private sector investments in innovation. Read the rest of this entry »
Daniel M. Kammen
(Originally published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jan. 16, 2009)
The United States must begin immediately retooling its economy to build a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable future, which in turn can strongly influence the global economy and geopolitics. With the production and consumption of energy the largest component of the U. S. economy in terms of both the flow of money and the movement of goods, this task will require a well-coordinated, interdisciplinary focus across federal and local governments and the private sector. Our current reliance on fossil fuels–the annual U.S. imported fuel bill is on the scale of the recent $700 billion financial sector bailout–means we start out each year already in the hole.
The recent economic downturn makes it even more politically challenging to launch significant new programs. Yet, a U.S. energy agenda focused on innovation and sustainability could result in significant job creation and stabilized energy costs, and could reposition the United States as a global leader. The focus of the recent congressional economic stimulus package on energy research and the need for expanded investment in the electric grid to enable a low-carbon mix of power options is a strong, positive signal that Capitol Hill is taking the opportunities and needs of the energy sector to heart. This is good news for the economy and the environment. Read the rest of this entry »
