Al Gore takes his message
of the need for clean energy
sources to audiences around
the world, here at the
Generational Challenge to
Repower America conference
in July 2008.
technologies on which we have come to depend are actually so old and outdated that
they are inherently far less efficient than newer
technologies that we haven’t started using.
Working smarter
Just as a robust information economy was
triggered by the introduction of the Internet,
a dynamic new clean-energy economy can
be stimulated by the development of a smart
grid that allows individual homeowners and
business owners anywhere in America to use
their own solar panels, windmills and other
sources of energy to sell surplus electricity to
their utilities. The same smart grid will give us
powerful tools to measure our energy use and
save money by eliminating unnecessary costs
and wasteful usage patterns. Coupled with
this new smart grid, we can take advantage of
new energy-storage technologies to improve
the efficiency with which we store renewable
energy, thus enabling the full development of
a clean-energy economy.
We should also continue retooling our
failing auto giants to assist them in the manufacture of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.
Using electricity to power our cars would give
consumers incredible market power to push
the entire system to much higher levels of efficiency and sharply reduce global warming
pollution. This reconstruction of the automotive economy would also save tens of thousands of good jobs here in America when we
can finally compete against the more efficient
cars and trucks made by foreign competitors.
We must also use the natural systems of
26 ;e Costco Connection NOVEMBER 2009
RALPH ALS WANG
our planet to solve the climate crisis. The
planet’s forests are being cut down at an
alarming rate. Planting new trees can reverse
this trend and create new opportunities to
remove carbon from the atmosphere. Similarly, our soils can play a vital role in storing
carbon, but they are currently threatened by
practices that have become commonly accepted in industrial agriculture. Moving toward more ecologically sensitive agricultural
practices, including changes in diet, can revitalize the soil. We must also continue to make
progress in ensuring sustainable population
growth globally.
A real chance for a bright future
Several obstacles stand in our way, but
I am confident that if we change the way we
think about the environment, the value we
place on the planet from an economic standpoint and the role that powerful industries
play in our political system, we can make a bold
step forward toward a clean-energy future.
Many Americans now see, as I do, a bright
future of new green jobs, greater stability in
our economic and international
systems, and a safe
planet for our children and grandchildren. We must make
the choice—as a country and as a global civilization—to embrace a
multifaceted plan to
solve the climate crisis
once and for all. C
Numbers tell the story In the first quarter of 2009, the U.S. current account deficit stood at $101.5 billion (lower than usual because of the recession)—driven in part by $46 billion in imports of foreign petroleum and petroleum products.
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PHOTODISC
0
5
1
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1
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I
$
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$
6
0
2
B
I
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The estimated
annual cost to society
of the outdated
U.S. electricity grid
is $206 billion
per year.
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0
E
P
R
C
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E
N
T
From the late 1800s
through the beginning
of World War II, the
carbon content of U.S.
soil decreased by more
than 50 percent.
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0
2
Y
E
A
R
S
The U.S. could reduce
its projected energy
consumption 23 percent
by 2030 simply by making
economically beneficial
investments in energy
efficiency.
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