The New Green Deal ear President Obama, You are a great communicator, capable of motivating people and changing the world. Our needs are great. Here are some ideas for a New Green Deal. We don’t have much time, so please seize the moment in the first 100 days of your administration. 1. Appoint someone with political clout like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as the U.S. EPA administrator. This will lift the spirits of millions of Americans because they will know that EPA means business again. Your administration should work with Congress to establish EPA as a Cabinet-level agency. Secretary Kennedy could position the Department of the Environment(al Protection Agency) to tackle thorny issues on an even footing with the Departments of Commerce, Energy, and the Interior. 2. Announce that you, President Obama, will personally lead the U.S. delegation at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change November 30-December 11, 2009, in Copenhagen. There, the world will finalize an agreement on greenhouse gas emission reductions after 2012 (post-Kyoto Protocol). As the largest emitter (per capita) and one of the wealthiest nations, the U.S. must lead on this issue. You will be received in Copenhagen like a rock star. 3. Invest massively in a new energy infrastructure. Consider a mix for the U.S. that emphasizes energy conservation and efficiency; draws on wind power, solar energy, geothermal heat, and natural gas; and has a sustainable infrastructure by 2050. If the Big 3 automakers are to be bailed out, there must be provisions that they transform largely into producers of electric and hybrid vehicles, provide short-term storage batteries for wind and solar power, and end our dependence on foreign oil. 4. Challenge us. Americans yearn for a chance to participate in a better tomorrow. All we need is to be called on to do something more than just go shopping. We are ready to sacrifice, conserve energy, walk to work, bike to school, drive fuel-efficient cars, and ride mass transit. Just ask us. 5. Invest heavily in a new water infrastructure. We need cleaner drinking water, better-treated wastewater, aquifer storage, and recovery (water reuse). Superior levees are needed for New Orleans and other vulnerable communities, along with wetland creation for flood and nutrient control, rebuilt bridges, and habitat creation programs. Good jobs will be created as we construct a legacy for our children. 6. Transform our government from an adversarial, partisan, polarized, secretive operation into an open,
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10.1021/es8032583
2009 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 12/29/2008
transparent, and collaborative system similar to your campaign for the presidency. Mass collaboration really can change everything. 7. Undo the most onerous and harmful EPA rulings of the Bush Administration, such as the “Clear Skies” mercury rule, the New Source Review rollback for major coal-fired power plants, the blocking of California clean car standards, the “Healthy Forests” harvesting initiative for public lands, and the weakening of the Endangered Species Act. 8. Announce a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants except those utilizing carbon capture and sequestration technology. Embrace the recent ruling of the EPA Court of Appeals against a Utah coal-fired power plant that failed to consider the role its emissions would play in climate change. Invest in research and feasibility tests of safe and cost-effective carbon storage. 9. Slow the corn-to-ethanol portion of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 in favor of developing more sustainable biofuels like cellulosic ethanol and solar-energy-derived hydrogen. Invest in research to bring these to market faster. If a biofuel is not sustainable in the long run when food prices, land supply, water, energy, soil, and nutrient runoff are factored in, then we simply should not support it. 10. Improve and expand our nation’s electricity grid. Especially when credit is extremely tight, every dollar should be scrutinized to provide optimal economic and environmental return to rebuild our infrastructure. The grid will require large investments as we move from a “base-load” paradigm of 400 large power plants nationwide to that of a couple million small power producers that use renewable energy sources. The Internet doesn’t consist of only a few hundred large computers and servers, and the distributed energy network of tomorrow will not be centralized either. Implementing the New Green Deal will not be easy. There will be pitfalls and mistakes along the way. But you have enormous political capital worldwide, and we stand ready to help whenever and however we can.
Jerald L. Schnoor Editor
[email protected] January 1, 2009 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 9 1
