Thomas Friedman’s article in The New York Times argues that the United States has fallen behind China and other nations in developing a clean energy economy. In our current economic model, competition is a powerful driver to motivate industry and citizens to do their part to build a better, brighter, and more sustainable future. Ultimately, our fate as a people does not obey artificial boundaries drawn by man. The United States, China, and every nation of the world must take rapid and significant steps to stem the tide of climate change. Whether through economic competition or collaboration, these actions must be taken.
Friedman does not point out in the article the billions of dollars allocated for clean energy in the 2009 recovery act that some have characterized as the largest single piece of environmental legislation in American history [1]. Also, the proposed renewable electricity standard in the US Senate has the potential to mobilize the clean energy economy in the United States [2]. While Emily and others in class have made a persuasive argument that technology can cause more environmental harm than good, this hopefully will be a scenario where this correlation turns around. Instead of enhancing our ability to exploit the Earth’s resources, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and other technologies can make a serious impact on decreasing greenhouse gases and limit pollutants that would be emitted through the burning of fossil fuels.
By recharging and stimulating the US and global clean energy sectors, we can build a truly green economy that harnesses the positive part of the ‘T’ in the =PAT equation. The scope of the problem of climate change is so vast that a market mechanism may be the only way to move rapidly enough towards a sustainable society. Ultimately, whether or not 'green' manufacturing and the competitive global race to create more environmentally friendly products lead to a truly sustainable society is less important than these initial steps to jump start the clean energy economy and start moving us on the path towards ecological balance.
[1] http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/
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