Why Is the US So Ineffective in Cleantech?
When I wrote the other day: “Every day we read about the global dominance that China is achieving in cleantech, and wish the US could get on the stick as well,” a well-meaning reader wrote back: “It makes you sad and it makes you furious at the shortsightedness and hypocrisy of the people we elect.”
Personally, I don’t blame the people, but the system that selects them. Put another way, shortsighted and hypocritical people are the only ones who will fit into “leadership” positions in what’s left of our “democracy.” Just like you don’t expect to find midgets playing professional basketball or leg-amputees on “Dancing with the Stars,” don’t look for honesty and decency in government. Apple trees don’t produce tangerines.
Until we remove the corruptive elements of our election processes, we’re doomed to an eternity of “leadership” by people like the ones who grace our evening news reports. I hope you’ll check out MoveToAmend.org and get involved.
Btw, here’s a radio interview I did with MoveToAmend’s David Cobb. If you get the chance to catch him on one of his speaking tours, I urge you to grab the opportunity; he’s one of the most articulate and powerful speakers you’ll ever find. He ran for US president in 2004, so I suppose he’s had some practice.
HiCraig,
Yes its true that China is going ahead in a big way with renewable energy. The Three Gorges Dam Project in China, cost a staggering 25 Billion dollars to implement AND it ‘might’ have a deleterious effect on the other parts of the country. The thing to remember is that this IS a solution that is on par with the grid, so ( in spite of possible negative effects) it is a huge step forward, after all it has a capacity of generating about 20 GW of electricty! Not a joke. Also the whole-hearted investment by the Chinese Government in PV Solar, benefits the whole world because today a watt of solar PV is less than a dollar, thanks to Chinese investment. Ofcourse the ultimate solution would be for the majority of the world to go OFF GRID and that means serious sustainable renewable energy solutions.
Hi Craig. Don’t give up hope, we had leg-amputee Heather McCartney dancing in our hugely popular Saturday night Strictly Dancing competition, and she did well, so maybe US RE policy will follow suite one day. Seriously though unless a policy and incentive last at least 20 years, few companies will invest seriously in it and that’s the advantage we have her in UK, only problem is we have no real money- only bits of paper that don’t give the confidence a gold standard used to!