Green Jobs: Environmental Fantasy or Tomorrow's Common Reality? Part 5

How America's political divisions and current status as a follower in the clean energy race threaten to derail the vision of a green economy—and why constructive optimism might be our best tool for making sure that doesn’t happen

Author’s Note: In this five-part series, I explore the forces that will determine whether or not the promise of millions of green jobs in America can ever be fulfilled. Will careers in energy efficiency, environmental technology and clean, renewable energy—such as wind and solar power—become mainstream in the United States? As with so many issues, the answer can probably be found somewhere between the extremes. Read Part 1 here.

At the outset of this series, I stressed that the topic of green jobs is difficult to get a firm handle on due to its relationship with the heavily politicized and muddled issue of climate change. By removing global warming from the factors influencing the development of clean energy, I hoped to show that there were plenty of other reasons to believe that green jobs are a big part of America’s future.

The other factors I outlined, though, are still influenced by America’s stubborn political divisions. Conservatives and liberals both love to stretch (or ignore) the truth, scratch the backs of generous lobbyists and play petty games that result in progress being delayed or halted altogether. Cooperation, it seems, has been erased from the vocabulary of many of the leaders best positioned to produce necessary change.

Exhibit A: The United States is one of the few industrialized nations that still doesn’t have a comprehensive, long-term energy plan.

“One thing that’s really important in all of this is that energy sectors are subsidy and regulatory dependent,” says Ron Pernick, co-founder and managing director of Clean Edge Inc., a research and advisory firm dedicated to the clean technology sector. “Anyone who tells you otherwise is either a fool or trying to pull one over on you. That’s just the reality.” He says the oil, coal and gas industries, the nuclear industry and the renewable energy industries all rely on substantial government support. The problem is that, at present, the U.S. clean energy sector isn’t getting the kind of regulatory assistance it needs in order to compete on an equal footing with fossil fuels.

Creating a vibrant, lasting clean technology sector in America that produces green jobs will also require bigger, more strategic financial investments from the federal government in research and development. History proves that, despite what some conservative critics might say, public money (along with smart policy) can make the key difference between progress and stagnation. A report from Clean Edge, titled Clean Edge Job Trends 2010, states:

Think of what the Internet industry might look like if the U.S. government hadn’t invested in the build-out of its predecessor—ARPANET. The clean-tech sector relies similarly on the deployment of new infrastructure, like a smart grid with enhanced, modernized grid infrastructure to carry green electrons and incorporate charging stations to support all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Unfortunately, recent government investments in the clean technology sector have left many people (even left-leaning politicians) scratching their heads. So far, much of the stimulus money that Congress designated for U.S. renewable energy projects has gone to foreign corporations (particularly for wind power), creating green manufacturing jobs overseas rather than at home. In his article, “Blown Away,” for the Investigative Reporting Workshop, reporter Russ Choma writes:

Including other forms of energy, like solar and geothermal, 79 percent ($1.71 billion) has gone to foreign companies.

The U.S. Department of Energy claims that the initial outlay to foreign companies that manufacture the components for renewable energy projects on American soil will help spur demand for more green works at home, which will, at some point, create a better environment to support domestic companies. The problem, of course, is that using taxpayer money to create disproportionately more jobs overseas at a time when Americans desperately need those jobs creates a big credibility problem for the government. It’s a situation that could threaten the public’s trust in future green initiatives.

Beyond the staggering ineptitude of the federal government, though, are other obstacles that complicate the prospects for an American green-collar revolution.

One of those hurdles is that we’re in the position of having to come from behind. Clean technology requires long-term investment. Renewable energy technologies are still very young in comparison to oil, coal and natural gas. There are substantial technological barriers to overcome if they are ever to achieve widespread adoption in the U.S. The innovations that are needed will not happen quickly. Even if they do, American utility companies face a lengthy transition from an energy infrastructure that’s been optimized for fossil fuels. In the meantime, foreign nations enjoy a giant lead, along with the green jobs.

Another potential obstacle goes back to the dominance of China in the clean technology sector. A number of renewable energy technologies—things like wind turbine components or batteries used in hybrid and full-electric vehicles—require metals that are scarce on this planet. China, it seems, currently mines about 97 percent of these essential rare earth metals. This could spell disaster for much of the American clean-tech sector if the U.S. ever decides to get into a trade war with China. Perhaps the only solution to this dilemma is for American companies to out-innovate their foreign competitors with technologies that don’t need such rare commodities.