Green

Today's EEI newsletter reports that:

Newsweek Tackles Growth, Trends in Corporate Movement to 'Go Green'

Newsweek tackled the phenomenon that America is in love with the green movement – at a certain level – and it is growing, with companies as diverse as FedEx and Wal-Mart increasingly playing the central role in turning business on to the advantages, and fiscal savings, associated with being environmentally conscious.

For example, in Texas, Austin's municipal utility has turned to wind power for 6 percent of its 2006 generation, with that figure expected to be 11 percent in 2008. Newsweek observed that "last fall, when rising natural-gas prices meant that conventional customers were paying more" for their power than customers using wind power, "the company was overwhelmed with new converts to sustainable power."

Wrote Newsweek: "Looked at one way, these are thrilling times, the beginning of a technological and social revolution that could vault our society into a post-post-industrial future. 'If you mention green tech or biotech in a presentation,' says [Ray] Lane, the venture capitalist, 'you'll get your funding before you get to your third slide.' On the other hand, we may just be kidding ourselves. Can bicycles and switch grass really offset the effects--in pollution, resource depletion and habitat destruction--of a billion Chinese lining up to buy cars for the first time?"
Newsweek , July 17.


As is often the case, Newsweek gets things half-right. Of course population control is ultimately going to have to be part of the environmental solution. Of course, gasoline-burning cars are going to have to be entirely eliminated over time. And, of course, it's going to take more than just wind power to save the globe. But stupid assertions that "we may just be kidding ourselves" and throw-up-your-hands scenarios that pit bicycles against billions of new cars only encourae people to go on doing what they've been doing rather than setting in place a few key changes that can lead to even more changes down the road.