On a 102 degree morning in Las Vegas, the likes of Al Gore, Sen Majority Leader Harry Reid,
Secretary of Energy Chu, Secretary of Labor Solis, Texan Eco-Baron T Boone Pickens and many more gathered at the UNLV Cox Pavilion to talk energy. The event was covered by many news stations and media outlets, and covered the new "green" economy. In my perspective, the Summit leaned heavily towards the viability of a new "green" economy and a smaller, but significant amount on how that viability can be translated into the creation of new "green" jobs.
When I arrived at Cox Pavilion, I was greeted by the "best-of-the-best" in wingnuttery. At the entrance to the parking lot of Cox pavilion, the streets were lined with protesters whose signed read "Fascist," "Global Warming is a Tax Hoax" and "Man-Made Global Warming is a hoax, Co2 is what plants breathe." As I walked passed them, I was treated with respect, as I expected. Then I proceeded on my way to find another layer of sign-holders. These people were countering the other protesters with signs like "Clean Energy," "Sierra Club for Clean Energy" and "Green Jobs for Nevada." I will admit, I felt more at home here, because I could tell these people were ready for a transition. For me, with green economies, a transition, albeit a smooth, slow one, is the best way to usher in a new Global Warming mitigation strategy.
Clean Energy, that the second group was touting, is not necessarily an incarnation of cap-and-trade that the other side was protesting. While cap-and-trade is a strategy to reduce emissions, the summit was not about that. The Summit was about finding ways to usher in a new clean economy and new viable methods of clean energy, like Natural Gas for 18-wheelers and Methane capture from landfills. These ideas and technologies are not new and its not as if we do not have the capacity to implement them. It is, as Chu (and repeated by Clinton, Gore and Pickens) had said, the "Low Lying Fruit" that must be picked. We just need the political will to institute it.
Here are some highlights from the Panel in the morning:
1. Senator Reid - He introduced some of the panel. But, his most compelling banter was when he said he has multiple meetings with T. Boone Pickens, and had been converted to the "Church of Pickens." I can appreciate this because Pickens has influence with those who will go against a clean energy policy, as has the ability to convince them otherwise.
2.Al Gore - Al Gore related a story about the creation of the Atomic Bomb and the opening up of Oak Ridge in Tennessee. The splitting of the atom and the energy implications for such an ability, with the creation of the atomic bomb and atomic power was the last great energy revolution. It was the Manhattan Project's scientists' responsibility to create a new energy. Now, it is our generation's responsibility to usher in a new energy revolution. He also talked about the importance of the Recovery Act and its tens of billions of dollars for alternative energy subsidization. He also spoke that will to create a new energy environment was stifled by out dependence on oil. When oil goes up we become jolted out of our seats and cry for alternatives and better policy. But, when gas drops in price we go back into a Lull. He called this the "shock and trance" cycle. Lastly, and most importantly, he challenged the new generation to take up energy as a "New Mandate" against the Climate Crisis that will "affect all civilization," and that we must "repower America."
3. Secretary Chu - Secretary Chu referred to development of renewables as the "Second Industrial Revolution." He related his trip to China, saying that they are beginning to realize the devastating affects of Carbon pollution. He said they were creating a new smart grid (800 kV by 2020) to connect the entire country, creating solar panels and wind farms. What was most compelling about this was that he said they were employing these new technologies for DOMESTIC use. The charge in the US was that China was only employing things like PV solar to export to bolster their already giant economy. But, Chu says differently, and I definitely trust a Berkeley Physics professor with a Nobel Peace Prize. He also emphasized the advantages that renewable energy could have on the Agricultural Sector, including growing new biomass for ethanol creation and using yeast and bacteria for diesel and jet fuel. Lastly, and I want to emphasize this point, he said that the COST OF INACTION WOULD BE HORRENDOUS!!! Take note of that, please!
4. Stephanie Burns (Dow Corning) - She mentioned that Down corning has created 9GW of solar PV and promoted energy efficient buildings. But, her main point, and one that I agree wholly with, is that these technologies were created and invented int he United States, so we should be building them in the United States (applause). The access to finance should be assured, and investment in clean energy is what will spur the new economy.
5. Gen Wesley Clark - He emphasized the expediency of what we should be doing. He said we should be making 1st and 2nd generation biofuels and creating clean infrastructure now, in order to put our construction sector back to work. He said we should go to higher ethanol fuels, with a low carbon fuel standard that could save 1 million barrels of oil per day. His group is championing methane capture from landfills and using it to power generators through natural gas pipes. He is also using secondary carbon capture to feed bacteria that creates ethanol and biofuels. These ideas are similar to ones I encountered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which is very reassuring to me.
6.Denise Bode, American Wind Association - She said that we are currently up to scale on wind energy. She said it could create 35,000 new construction jobs in creating wind turbines and that we have the potential to be the leader in wind energy creation. She emphasized the need to drop policy barriers in order to create more turbines.
7. T Boone Pickens - He related a story about how he was the "odd man out" in the group. He said he was a Republican, and was getting annoyed that the party did not have an energy strategy. He said he was able to talk to republicans but they "never did anything for him" for his energy concerns. Finally, he spoke to Sen Reid and was able to get a good conversation going about renewable energy, and was willing to sink $60 million into it. He emphasized that we have the resources to stop our dependence on foreign oil. It is a sad state when we have to depend on our enemies for fuel. He emphasized that there has been a plateau on oil creation at 85 million barrels, and has only stayed that way because of additions from nearly tapped reserves. Once those reserves are gone, the cap will fall every year until we run out. He said that our prestige is being destroyed because we have 4% of the population but use 25% of the oil. He said that replacing the 6.5 million 18 wheeler trucks with natural gas will cut the OPEC oil consumption in half. I had the privilege of talking to Pickens for about 5 min about Atlantic and Gulf Coast wind farms.
8. Sen Cantwell (D-WA) - She said we need to look for opportunities in a new renewable resource economy. He quotable was "As Nevada goes, so goes the nation." This is true, because of Nevada's vast resources in solar, geothermal, methane capture, natural gas, etc and its abundance of BLM land that it is the new frontier for renewable energy.
9. Van Jones - He made a very powerful, emotionally charged speech about the ability to unite the country over a new energy economy. He said its not transforming the economy, but "reinventing a new sector." This is a good response to those who believe a transformation in the economy will lead to a great crisis. Jones is right in saying that this is a technology that is there, and all we have to do it have the will to reinvent it.
10. Mayor Villaraigosa - Los Angeles has been the poster child for sprawl, pollution and bad public transportation. But, he also said that it met the Kyoto Standards in 2008, is 13.9% renewable, has worked with Caltech, USC and UCLA on a Clean Tech Corridor, has created a drayage truck electrification plan for the ports of LA/Long Beach and has a pilot program for 1500 students to work on renewables.
11. Secretary of Labor, Solis - She said we should educate Americans about green jobs and make American the leader in green jobs creation. She said it something that will take time for change to occur, but it will result in global leadership and good jobs in the US. It starts, according to Solis, with cross-departmental standards for green job employment.
12. Danny Thompson, NV AFL-CIO - He said that the state unemployment in the building trades he represents is 20% and in Reno, NV it got as high as 50%. We need to create more jobs for this sector, ones that are integrated into a green job portfolio. He gave an examples of putting solar panels in the desert around Las Vegas, which would create thousands of jobs.
Clinton's Speech - Clinton started out talking about the C40 program in his own organization that brought energy efficiency to 40 cities. The problem, he said, was that these were affluent near or 1st world nations with these cities. He spoke of the retrofit of the Empire State Building, which cut its carbon pollution by 30%, will take 4 million tons of carbon out of the air. His main message was that we have to convince people that it will be economically positive to invest in renewable resources. The cost of retrofitting a house is often too costly for individuals, so his program suggestion would be to have retrofits backed major energy companies. There is $900 billion in loans available at banks, but people are too scared to take out any. He said if there was a small business loan guarantee of 1 to 10, in the same way SPA loans are given, backed by companies like Johnson Controls, Honeywell or Siemens, it will infuse confidence back into consumers to take loans for retrofits. He then brought out a brickette, made in Haiti, from biomass that costs 1 cent. For 4 of these brickettes, one could cook food for 45 minutes.
Conclusion: Nevada is the new frontier for renewable energy. And, there must be the message that what Nevada does, the country should look at as an example, like they have done with California for the last decade or so. But, more importantly, my generation must take up renewable energy and a new industrial revolution as its new Mandate. We have the technology, we have the scientists (most of the technology was created in the US) and we have the innovation, all we need is the political will. This idea should be embodied in the efforts of people like T Boone Pickens, who is willing to cross the political line to promote clean energy. It is a security, environmental and existential problem. But, Pickens has proved it can be a non-political issue. He characterized his meeting with Reid as "Two Americans talking about an American Problem" and that "there was no politics involved." This is not just an American problem, but a global problem. Even if one were to say that he is using this to make a profit, that would be a positive ideal. Making a profit off of renewable energy just shows the economic viability of it. And, if we are to maintain our prestige as leaders in the world, we have to innovate and research new technology and make our world more energy efficient. It is about time we stop our dependence on a dwindling resource like oil, and begin to look towards the future, which is only made less stable by continuing oil pumping. If we can get a retired army general, a Texas oil man, a Nobel Peace Prize winning environmentalist and a Nobel Peace Prize Winning physicist to agree, then certainly we can convince the rest of the nation, and the world, that energy efficiency is an American priority.
And...I will certainly consider converting to the Church of Pickens.
This is interesting stuff foolian.
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