GS: Earth Day

As with most national holidays, it's easy to think of some as empty gestures, or having lost their meaning. Columbus Day is one example. In the years past, Earth Day ran a similar course. Not today, however. National news networks acknowledge it, the president acknowledges it, corporations and entire industries acknowledge it. Now, finally, it's time to say that the American people acknowledge this too. In spite of the encouragement of debate from the media, we are, as a nation, ready to move on from the squabbles over technicalities that prove all too trivial today than they were ten years ago.

Regardless of where we stand on the issue of climate change, it is ever more important to invest in new technologies that keep jobs in our country and reduce dependence on foreign or harmful energy. This isn't an isolationist viewpoint-- it is a viewpoint shared by many patriotic Americans who wish to create jobs here that can drive development throughout the world. What we develop here-- biofuels, wind and solar power, etc-- these technologies are just as relevant elsewhere as they are here.

I will acknowledge the problems with the 'green mentality'. As with GOP mouthpieces parroting the old Reagan-era mantras, the greenies who denounce such alternatives as nuclear power and clean coal with their own trivial technicalities need to update to the latest version, so to speak. There's better technology than scrubbers and carbon sequestration-- algae is an example where carbon is fixed into biomass, which is more beneficial than simply storing this precious resource away. Carbon is the basis for all living things, and with it, we may come to realize that our technology can coexist with nature-- the biosphere meets the Otto cycle. With the new Generation III+ reactors, which promise greater reliability, improved fuel cycles, and produce enough electricity to replace two coal power plants, there's never been a better time to invest in a nuclear infrastructure. There is no one right solution to meet all of our energy needs. Every community will find their own solutions, and it's everyone's responsibility to provide those. Answers do not come from protests-- they come from organizing communities and presenting answers.

We all work towards this together, in the things we know, in the things we say, and the things we do. We all play our part in the economic system that leads us towards progress, and it is important that we all seek to understand the implications of our work. For every use for technology, there is another degree of responsibility we must be aware of. In the long scheme of things, regulation-- such as carbon cap & trade-- will keep our industry from straying from the road, and towards a cleaner future, and perhaps create an industry of its own. For local communities, we must all be wise and aware of the ways technology is being used in our community, from the steel mill on the far side of town, to the repair shop that handles grease and oil. As for you and me, there's more we can do than just switching to fluorescent lightbulbs. Individual education in all these matters is essential. In a world where technology affects us all, prudence and wisdom on all levels is necessary to keep us doing right.

One must keep in mind, renewables will get us to energy independence in perhaps fifty years. Investing in all our options, however, will most likely get us there in half that. This is the Apollo Program for green energy we've all been asking for, and this is the time for the optimism we saw when we realized that Obama fulfilled our hopes. We need to keep confident that, through our technology to give us the means, industry to implement that means, and government regulation to keep us on track, we will find we are working towards a better tomorrow, for the generations to come.