Why Trillions of Dollars of Private Capital Has So Little Interest in Clean Energy

Michael Klare is a documentarian from Amherst, whose film “Blood and Oil” shows that from World War II on, every single administration has acknowledged that our wars are always fought over oil.

His piece here focuses on the military, but touches heavily on environmentalism and clean energy. He writes:

Last week, the president made a rare appearance at the Pentagon to unveil a new strategic plan for U.S. military policy (and so spending) over the next decade…..Obama was evidently the first president to offer remarks from a podium in the Pentagon press room. He made the point himself — “I understand this is the first time a president has done this. It’s a pretty nice room. (Laughter)” — and it was duly noted in the media. Yet no one thought to make anything of it, even though it tells us so much about our American world.

After all, when was the last time the president appeared at a podium at the Environmental Protection Agency to announce a 10-year plan for a “leaner, meaner” approach to the environment, or at the Education Department to outline the next decade of blue-skies thinking (and spending) for giving our children a leg-up in a competitive world? Or how about at a State Department podium to describe future planning for a more peaceable planet more peaceably attained? Unfortunately, you can’t remember such moments and neither can America’s reporters, because they just aren’t part of Washington life. And strangest of all, no one finds this the tiniest bit odd or worth commenting on.

Wow, this guy’s brilliant. It certainly is true that our country suffers from a glaring lack of focus on energy and the environment. Astonishing, we have almost zero interest in dealing with the most critical issue that faces our civilization. In fact, one could argue that we have a “negative” interest, as most of the conversations on the subject concerned repealing regulation, defunding programs, removing the powers of the EPA, abolishing the Department of Energy, etc.

Then we wonder why trillions of dollars of private capital, anxiously looking for projects, has no interest whatsoever in clean energy.