State turned a vital corner on path to clean energy
By K.C. GOLDEN
GUEST COLUMNIST
Washington's transition to a clean energy economy shifted into high gear this year with an impressive package of forward-looking legislation coming out of Olympia. Bipartisan majorities delivered clean cars, high-performance buildings, efficient equipment and solar energy incentives.
The timing couldn't be better. These clean energy policies will help us reduce the economic and military costs of oil imports, which are siphoning the strength out of our economy. Meanwhile, climate disruption -- caused by burning fossil fuels -- is melting our snowpack and threatening our food, energy and water supplies. Like most crippling addictions, our fossil fuel dependence is reaching an ugly dead end.
Guillermo Munro/P-I
It's also a time of great promise for economies that get ahead of the clean energy curve. The alternatives to fossil fuels are coming of age: Smarter, cleaner energy solutions are becoming widely available and affordable. Renewable energy sources and efficient energy systems are emerging as bright lights on our economic horizon.
We stand at a crossroads. By embracing smart, efficient energy choices, we can position Washington for success in the clean energy economy of the future. Or we can prolong our dependence on fossil fuels and face an increasingly costly tangle of economic, environmental and security problems.
So the 2005 Legislature will be remembered for turning Washington toward the clean energy path. Our vehicles, buildings and equipment will be more resource-efficient -- keeping more energy dollars circulating through the state's economy instead of sending them to Houston or Riyadh. And our clean energy industry will grow -- especially in rural areas, which will profit from harvesting renewable resources for energy-hungry cities.
The Clean Car bill was heralded as a major environmental achievement. But it's much more than that. In the future, new cars will consume less fuel and produce less pollution. They'll cost less to own and operate. They'll reduce our dependence on oil.
Clean cars will help us fix a gaping hole in our economy. Currently, Washington spends more than $20 million every day to import oil and gas; that's more than the state spends on K-12 education. As the parent of two school-age kids, I can't help but wonder what that money could do for schools if we weren't wasting so much on fuels. Saving just one day's worth of oil and gas imports in Washington would save enough money to pay off the Seattle Public Schools' budget shortfall.
Clean car standards are a classic win-win situation. Citizens all over the state, legislators from both parties and a wide spectrum of businesses, civic groups and local governments worked together to pass them.
In our political culture, it's all about the war between special interests. The story of any particular battle is a tale of winners and losers.
Early in the legislative session, it became clear that both the facts and the people were behind clean cars. So the automakers mounted a huge advertising campaign to mislead consumers about the costs and benefits. The media -- sensing a good old-fashioned tug-of-war between environmentalists and the car industry -- amplified the conflict.
So we heard the same tired old story about a zero sum game between the economy and the environment. The story wasn't true; the facts showed clearly that clean cars deliver less pollution and lower costs for consumers and businesses. It doesn't matter if your political perspective is red or blue, rural or urban, pinstriped or green: Cars and trucks that cost less to own and operate, pollute less and reduce fossil fuel dependence make sense for everyone!
Yes, the conservationists won. And so did farmers, who will get trucks that do more work for less money. So did businesses, which will enjoy lower costs and fewer air quality restrictions. Asthma-sufferers won. Car enthusiasts won. Arguably, even the U.S. auto industry won: Stronger emission standards might help them deliver better technology and regain their competitive edge.
"We all won" may not be the story the news media like. But it's the true story about clean cars. And it's the true story about the new solar incentives, which are expected to attract a manufacturing business to Republic, providing a boost to North Central Washington's struggling economy. It's the true story of green buildings, which will cost less to operate, improve productivity and reduce waste. It's the true story of equipment efficiency standards, which will save consumers $460 million by 2020 and significantly reduce global warming pollution.
Best of all, there's plenty more where this story came from. There's a whole world of opportunities to build a healthier, more prosperous future with smarter, cleaner energy technologies: renewable fuels such as biodiesel, efficiency upgrades, renewable power, better cars, and better alternatives to cars. Somebody's going to make a mint marketing these technologies, and we're all going to save money and breathe easier when we can buy them.
Heaven knows it won't be too soon. The costs of fossil fuel dependence -- the security risks, the economic hemorrhaging, the environmental destruction -- are becoming unbearable. Reducing that dependence is one of the very best things we can do to improve the conditions for peace and security in a world where energy politics inflame international conflict. It's one of the best things we can do to save money today and create a sound economic foundation for our kids' prosperity. And it's what we absolutely must do to protect the climate.
The transition from an obsolete fossil fuel economy to a thriving clean energy economy is our generation's defining challenge, our greatest opportunity.
But we cannot rise to this challenge if we stay stuck in the well-worn ruts of political identity -- east vs. west; left vs. right; Republican vs. Democrat; environment vs. economy. We're going to miss the boat if the only story we've got is "us versus them."
It's a familiar story, this battle among special interests. But it's useless. It enriches political consultants and it spices up talk radio, but it gets us nowhere and we can't afford to go nowhere. We've got a fossil fuel age to end and a new, clean energy economy to build. We need a much richer, more constructive story -- a story that multiplies, not divides.
The 2005 Legislature gave us a glimpse of that more hopeful story. It's a story about a unifying vision of healthy, prosperous communities. It's about good jobs in businesses that produce clean energy and smart transportation systems. It's about building stronger local economies by using energy efficiently. It's a story that features clean cars, high-performance green buildings, solar incentives, and equipment efficiency standards -- and those promising initiatives are just the first chapter.
Gov. Christine Gregoire and legislators from both parties deserve tremendous credit for telling this story loud and clear. In 2005, they passed energy policies that deliver -- not for one special interest or the other -- but for all of Washington, and for our future.
These are everybody's wins, and that's why there will be many more like them.
K.C. Golden is policy director for Climate Solutions, a clean economy group working to help the Northwest find solutions to climate disruption. |
