FSB Author Article
A Future of Energy Freedom
By Congressman Jerry McNerney Ph.D.,
Co-author of Clean Energy Nation: Freeing America from the
Tyranny of Fossil Fuels
We must create a new generation of jobs to give parents the
confidence that their children will do better than they have, and
we must assure our country's national and economic security. To
make great strides on this path, look no further than the clean
energy and energy efficiency industries, the next great frontier
for Americans to explore.
As a clean energy engineer and small businessman with over two
decades of experience in wind energy, I know the rewards and
challenges of the clean energy industry firsthand. During my time
as an engineer, I often climbed 200 foot windmills to conduct
tests and make repairs. From the top of the windmills, I looked
out over the landscape and saw what our innovative spirit can
achieve -- capturing energy from the wind for our homes and
businesses. Energy produced right here in the USA.
I worked for a quarter century developing wind energy technology
only to see that same technology go overseas and create jobs in
other countries. Much to my disgust, technology that was born of
American innovation was outsourced to Germany, which had more
favorable utility and energy policies. Jobs were created in
Germany that should have been created in America. Today, Germany
builds and exports wind turbines back to the United States.
Pursuing a more energy independent future for America will not
only lay the foundation for the next generation of good paying
manufacturing jobs but will also make us safer and more secure. We
are heavily dependent on imported oil from the Middle East. Oil
produced overseas fuels our cars, the trucks that ship goods
around the country, and perhaps most critically, our military
airplanes, tanks, ships and defense equipment. It's dangerous to
be so heavily dependent on oil from unstable regions.
We're also confronted with the devastating threat of global
warming, which is impacting people's lives across the globe with
unprecedented heat waves, freakish storms, increasing acidity of
the oceans, droughts, animal migrations, and melting arctic ice.
Already, island communities in the Marshall Islands and the
Maldives are facing the impending threat of rising ocean levels.
These trends will only grow as the effects of global warming
continue to accelerate and manifest themselves in our weather.
Fortunately, we have within our grasp the means to address the
challenges of a struggling economy, our risky dependence on
foreign oil, and the threat of climate change. America has the
know-how and innovative spirit to be the world's manufacturer and
exporter of clean energy technology. But this opportunity is
rapidly vanishing as other countries, especially China, experience
a surge in their clean energy development. We must act quickly or
-- just like when the wind energy I worked on in the 1980s went
overseas to Germany -- we'll miss the boat and soon be forced to
buy all of our clean energy technology from other countries.
Our nation needs a directed energy policy that gives businesses
the security and predictability to invest in developing and
manufacturing here in America. Enacting smart policies like a
renewable energy standard and providing the right financial
incentives will help us unleash the American innovative spirit.
I've seen what we can do when we work on these issues. In the
1980s, I helped develop a new type of wind turbine. After months
of hard work, our team invited a group of investors out to turn on
the machine for the first time and witness the windmill's maiden
voyage. We flipped the switch and, to our shock, the windmill
blades flew apart while everyone ran for cover.
But that moment proved to be an important turning point for the
technology. We improved the design -- making it better and
stronger over time -- and now those windmills are an important
source of energy production. We'll likely encounter similar bumps
on the road as we work towards becoming more energy independent.
But throughout this process, I'm confident that the American
spirit of hard work and innovation will see us through.
We have a history of taking on great challenges. Indeed, from
our first days as a colony that rose up against British monarchy,
Americans have proven that we are capable of hard work and possess
ideas that will change the world. Americans have always been eager
to explore the last frontier -- whether it is new land in the West
or the possibility of creating energy from algae. Let's start that
journey toward energy freedom now.
© 2011 Congressman Jerry McNerney, Ph.D., co-author of Clean Energy Nation: Freeing America from the Tyranny of Fossil Fuels
Author BioCongressman Jerry McNerney, Ph.D., co-author of Clean Energy Nation: Freeing America from the Tyranny of Fossil Fuels, was elected to California's 11th congressional district in November 2006. Reelected in 2008 and 2010, he is a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology; the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment; and the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. Prior to his time in Congress, he served as an energy consultant for Pacific Gas and Electric, FlowWind, and the Electric Power Research Institute. He lives in Pleasanton, California.
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