Green is our future

By Richard Trumka

Vindicator

As Americans and their families work their way out of the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression, there is a natural tendency to want to go “back” to a place that’s safer. But the bubble economy of the past decade is not what our country needs to build a secure future. We need to think ahead and work ahead, to start building a stable, sustainable economy that encourages invention, creates good jobs in new sectors and protects our environment.

What we need is to build a green economy, and we need to do it now. Our future security depends on it, and by that I mean not only the security of a planet battered by disasters like the Gulf oil spill, but the livelihoods of generations to come.

And thinking “green” is about more than windmills and solar panels — although building a clean energy industry is essential. It means creating greater efficiencies; it means building offices and homes that are cheaper to heat; it means developing and manufacturing technologies to clean our water and creating modern transportation systems that relieve congestion, cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

All of this means jobs. It means prosperity. And we can do it if we revive that great American tradition of innovation.

Countries like Germany, Spain and China have sprinted to capture the opportunities offered by the green economy. Last year, China, which is working overtime to become a world leader in green energy technology, invested $34.5 billion in developing low-carbon energy technology — nearly twice the U.S. level of investment.

Leadership role

We cannot afford, in any sense of that term, to sit back and watch others take over the historic leadership role of the United States. Our incredible industrial base was the backbone of our prosperity, security and middle class.

But today, our federal investment in energy-related research and development is only about 65 percent of what we were investing back in 1980. We rank 11th among the 20 largest industrial nations in clean energy investment.

We know the way forward. States like Illinois, Ohio and Michigan, long derided as the Rust Belt, are pointing the way by developing new technologies — and the good jobs that come with them — like advanced batteries, hybrid energy systems and fuel cells. They are capitalizing on our country’s enormous assets — our industrial infrastructure, our talented, experienced workforce, our educational institutions and our technical and engineering know-how.

We’re in a severe jobs crisis. But we can create 1.4 million American jobs by investing in hybrid and other clean cars, public transportation, efficient lighting and heating and renewable energy. With the right priorities and policies, we can spur an estimated $343 billion in renewable energy investment alone by the year 2020. Think about the economic boost that level of investment would provide.

That’s why many unions are signing on to build a sustainable future for our country. Some of the unions of the AFL-CIO are working with state pension funds to encourage investments in sustainable technologies and green real estate. Others are working to improve and expand mass transit and training employees to work in the new energy sector.

It’s a matter of reaching for the future. That’s what Americans do.

Richard Trumka is president of the 11.5 million-member AFL-CIO.