You Have $3 Trillion Dollars-- How Do You Want to Invest It? In the Future? Or in the Past?
Posted August 8, 2008 in The Media and the Environment
The Huffington Post (7 million readers/month) picked up NRDC President Frances Beinecke’s most recent Switchboard post discussing the danger posed to our economy (not to mention, our way of living) by drilling more—as Frances so aptly observes: “The fact of the matter is, over the next 20 years, America will spend an estimated $3 TRILLION dollars on energy infrastructure...And every dollar spent on a dumb idea that moves us back is a dollar taken away from smart solutions that move us forward.”
NRDC's Director of Programs Wesley Warren characterizes the push for more drilling as Big Oil's "final land grab before the Bush administration is over” in a US News and World Report article referencing NRDC Action Fund’s ‘snake oil’ ad… Ralph Cavanagh warns against well intentioned but shortsighted energy conservation initiatives in Plenty… In the Countdown to Crawford blog, the LA Times reprinted NRDC action fund’s ‘snake oil’ ad, detailing NRDC’s messaging in the ad as well as conservative backlash. Midwest office Director Henry Henderson spoke about the health of the Great Lakes (covering invasive species, pollution, Testing the Waters, and assorted usage issues) in an hour long piece on Wisconsin Public Radio’s evening drive time program…Nancy Stoner also discussed beach water quality on Michigan Public Radio.
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Comments
Dan Troutman — Aug 14 2008 10:31 AM
What you forget is that "3 trillion dollars" will be mainly corporate capital - not the government's. Public companies are free to "invest" their money in any way they see fit in order to maximize profit. If we're upset that they might "invest" in old ideas, the only way to discourage it would be to either pass substantial financial incentives for them to change or tax the hell out of them. Profit talks.
Instead of working on long range strategic plans, the US government (at all levels) seems to be focused on short-term "solutions" and increased regulation. Do you really want big government to dictate what you can spend YOUR money on? Imagine being told what food to buy, what clothes to wear, what mode of transportation to use, etc.
No thanks.
Until our elected government officials make it more financially rewarding for our country to switch to alternative energy sources, we have only ourselves to blame...