Green Policy: It’s Vital
By Richard McBride
President, McBride Real Estate Services
Not only does environmental responsibility promote a healthier, cleaner place for us all, we believe that it should be a major driver in the next economic expansion and a pillar in securing the financial future of the United States.
The great transformations of mankind have revolved around developing new sources of energy.
As Jarred Diamond outlined in Guns, Germs & Steel, energy from domesticated animals (powered by photosynthesis based fuel) transformed early civilizations and was a major factor in giving European cultures an advantage in their colonization of the Americas.
The coal powered steam engine drove the industrial revolution in the 18th century and in the 19th century shrunk the world through its application in shipping and rail travel. The internal combustion engine provided ever greater efficiency and created the means for powered flight and automobiles. Abundant electrical supply made possible incandescent lighting, air conditioning, radio television, computers, the internet, etc.
Gauging Human Progress
In essence, human progress can be gauged by our ability to harness more pure forms of energy (from plants to coal to oil). Continuing our transition to an electricity based energy economy, maximizing the use of renewal power generation will result in lowering our demand for foreign hydrocarbons (oil) and power the next wave of economic transformation.
Adopting new energy sources does not entirely eliminate the old ones (i.e. we still have horses, fireplaces & coal powered plants), it simply diminishes their use.
There is nothing more important to our national security than reducing our demand for foreign hydrocarbons. Demand for foreign oil drains our treasury through military spending, increases our trade deficit and props up petro dictators. Working towards a greener, self-sustaining energy policy will drive the United States to revolutionize our energy infrastructure and power the next great economic transformation.
China and Germany already lead the United States in the manufacture and deployment of renewable energy (primarily solar & wind). The potential for the US market to capitalize on existing technologies will create more than enough demand for US based renewal energy companies to become world leaders in this field.
As Tom Friedman, New York Times columnist and author of The World Is Flat, said: “Green is the new Red, White & Blue”.
