Thomas Friedman, in his best-selling book "Hot, Flat, and Crowded," suggests that a real "green revolution" - one that creates jobs, energy efficiency and independence, and environmental stewardship - will occur only when a courageous president creates a national energy system from the patchwork of agencies and state efforts that exists.
He provides the following snapshot to make his point:
"Local and regional utilities provide the electricity and natural gas for most Americans, but they are regulated by the states, which determine what prices they can charge for the power they generate and the transmission lines they build. The Environmental Protection Agency oversees air quality, water quality, and fuel quality standards. The Department of Transportation, though, is responsible for setting auto and truck mileage standards. The Department of Energy's Office of Science is the biggest source of funds in the country for energy research. And the DOE has responsibility for setting efficiency standards for appliances and the national model building code. The Department of Agriculture has a big say in ethanol production. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversees the building and maintenance of many of our hydroelectric dams, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversees interstate electricity transmission lines and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates the building and operation of nuclear plants. It's the president's Council of Economic Advisers that rules on the economic viability of any energy initiative. Meanwhile, senators, members of the House of Representatives, and governors all are lobbying every one of these agencies to protect or enhance the use of the particular form of power generated in their state, sometimes with the help of private sector investors and sometimes in opposition to them. When lobbyists don't like what one agency is doing on their issue, they will block them by going to another agency - and that is how you get an administration to work against itself."
And that tangled web is a large reason why it is so difficult for the federal government to effect meaningful change in energy policies ... or rather, effect an energy policy at all.
A practical solution is to centralize all those efforts into one office or department in Washington. That will require a president strong enough to consolidate power - by taking it away from a number of sources, including states. That will require an "energy czar" to coordinate national efforts toward a set of common goals.
Rightly, President-elect Barack Obama is being lauded today for the announcement Monday of his environmental "green team" that includes Nobel-prize winning physicist Steven Chu as energy secretary and Carol Browner, a confidante of former Vice President Al Gore and Environmental Protection Agency administrator during the Clinton administration, to lead a White House council on energy and climate. It's an impressive team.
But Obama needs Browner to be the "energy czar," or perhaps the "green queen." Obama should consolidate power into the position to direct efforts for a green revolution.
Obama on Monday said economic development and environmental protection can go hand in hand. He's correct, and they must. But the current patchwork of decision-making on energy issues only serves special interests, rather than national and global interests.
It's time for Obama to display the courage to change that. He has the right people in place to do it.
He provides the following snapshot to make his point:
"Local and regional utilities provide the electricity and natural gas for most Americans, but they are regulated by the states, which determine what prices they can charge for the power they generate and the transmission lines they build. The Environmental Protection Agency oversees air quality, water quality, and fuel quality standards. The Department of Transportation, though, is responsible for setting auto and truck mileage standards. The Department of Energy's Office of Science is the biggest source of funds in the country for energy research. And the DOE has responsibility for setting efficiency standards for appliances and the national model building code. The Department of Agriculture has a big say in ethanol production. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversees the building and maintenance of many of our hydroelectric dams, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversees interstate electricity transmission lines and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates the building and operation of nuclear plants. It's the president's Council of Economic Advisers that rules on the economic viability of any energy initiative. Meanwhile, senators, members of the House of Representatives, and governors all are lobbying every one of these agencies to protect or enhance the use of the particular form of power generated in their state, sometimes with the help of private sector investors and sometimes in opposition to them. When lobbyists don't like what one agency is doing on their issue, they will block them by going to another agency - and that is how you get an administration to work against itself."
And that tangled web is a large reason why it is so difficult for the federal government to effect meaningful change in energy policies ... or rather, effect an energy policy at all.
A practical solution is to centralize all those efforts into one office or department in Washington. That will require a president strong enough to consolidate power - by taking it away from a number of sources, including states. That will require an "energy czar" to coordinate national efforts toward a set of common goals.
Rightly, President-elect Barack Obama is being lauded today for the announcement Monday of his environmental "green team" that includes Nobel-prize winning physicist Steven Chu as energy secretary and Carol Browner, a confidante of former Vice President Al Gore and Environmental Protection Agency administrator during the Clinton administration, to lead a White House council on energy and climate. It's an impressive team.
But Obama needs Browner to be the "energy czar," or perhaps the "green queen." Obama should consolidate power into the position to direct efforts for a green revolution.
Obama on Monday said economic development and environmental protection can go hand in hand. He's correct, and they must. But the current patchwork of decision-making on energy issues only serves special interests, rather than national and global interests.
It's time for Obama to display the courage to change that. He has the right people in place to do it.
