FORUM: Clean energy will create new businesses, jobs

 
AMY HOYT BENNETT -- Encinitas

Let's not be dismissive and vague about how to get out of this economic and environmental crisis. The North County Times' suggestion ("Go slow on push to cut 'footprint,'" March 7) to slow down the transition to clean energy is exactly the wrong response for job creation and for our Golden State.

The best and brightest scientists at UC campuses across the state predicted the increased droughts and fires we have experienced. And the heat will continue. Sea level rise will affect our state dramatically. The science isn't perfect, but sadly, a few reactionary quasiclimate experts have been given equal weight in the media, clouding our vision.

Making peer-reviewed scientists look like demons is an easier sell. Shooting the messenger and politicizing the issue makes for entertainment, but is not in the best interest of our children or the planet. The status quo means a downhill slide and it is gaining speed with each fictitious roadblock.

So what is stopping us? The technological solutions for clean energy are challenging, but we are at our best with a challenge. We have a huge opportunity in front of us: find innovative solutions and create local jobs. Californians are leaders, but investment in new technologies requires a predicable market. Startup companies need to assure stockholders that their products will have a market. In order to have a predictable fuel market, we must price carbon.

A friend in North County who is a contractor specializing in energy conservation and retrofitting homes said he could employ people tomorrow, if we would price carbon today. An Escondido company is designing electric cars. A company in La Jolla is researching algae as an alternative fuel. Yet, we only nibbBle at the edges of clean energy.

European companies are way ahead in wind and solar. They priced carbon long ago. China is jumping into the race with gusto. Why are we handing them the jobs?

Passive patience with the status quo is just what oil and coal companies want for one more quarter of profits at the expense of our jobs and well being. Remember, they are obligated to put stockholders first. Well, there is room for more to play that game.

Our government has a long history of incentivizing growth and business development. The railroads were given huge swathes of land on either side of every track they laid down. Large corporations such as Boeing, Xerox and IBM have enjoyed subsidies and/or tax breaks for years and jobs were created. Now, we have an opportunity to one-up that incentive practice. A logical solution has already been suggested by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

We need inspiration and choices. With a "carbon fee and dividend," we can level the playing field for new clean energy. Bills such as House Resolutions 2380 and 1337, which take the "fee and dividend" approach, appeal to both sides of the aisle and are worth another look. If lawmakers steer clear of perks benefiting coal and oil, it will reap quick and effective results.

By placing a steadily increasing fee on fossil fuels at the mine, refinery or port of entry, we give investors a predictable price on energy which opens the door for market solutions. By returning the revenues to households, you and I are paid for wise energy choices. Clean energy has a competitive chance and we are rewarded with new businesses that create new jobs.

AMY HOYT BENNETT lives in Encinitas.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/article_8a60ed73-674a-5faf-a9ba-e766b85d6105.html