Jerome Ringo is president of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of labor unions, environmentalists, business leaders, and social justice organizations united for energy independence and good jobs.
This weekend, citizens from around the world will tune into one of the biggest concert events in history. Live Earth, organized under the leadership of former Vice President Al Gore, will hold concerts in seven cities around the globe, broadcast through multiple outlets that organizers estimate will reach an audience of two billion people.
But this concert is not for entertainment. The biggest concert in history is meant to bring attention to the biggest challenge we have ever faced. It marks the kick-off a new multi-year campaign by the Alliance for Climate Protection. Gore has made clear that we are beyond the point of just protecting the environment; we need to heal it. And healing it will require a transformation that will not only heal it but make us all stronger.
Accomplishing that requires nothing less than what it took to put a man on the moon But this time, it can’t be just a national commitment; it needs to be a global one. Like the concert, change has to happen in every corner of the globe. It will not be easy. In fact, it will be hard. We will need to harness the energy and ingenuity of not only our own nation, but every other. It will require that we share the burdens of change across the shoulders of the world.
The U.S. needs to lead. That leadership has led to incredible accomplishments that ignited massive transformations, from the national highway system to the Internet. The federal government must again lead the charge by making the investments that will create the tools for change. In every case, that upfront investment has led to increased prosperity. While we may have to sacrifice now, we will benefit many times over in the future.
While the federal government needs to make the tools, we all need to be able to use them. Transforming our relationship means transforming our economy. We all have a stake in the outcome, so we must all be able to participate in the process—and have no doubt that it will require all of us. The work of saving the environment will be the work of business and the people who work for business, and that is an opportunity, not a danger. We can create new jobs, and they can be good jobs that provide the means to live and give working people of every stripe a real stake in change.
Change is already happening. A June survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed that three-quarters of the cities they surveyed are replacing conventional municipal vehicles with hybrids or flex-fuel vehicles that can run on biofuels. Ninety percent require or plan to require new municipal buildings to be energy efficient. Four out of five use or plan to use renewable energy to meet part of their energy requirements. Seventy-five percent are launching efforts to encourage the private sector to build more efficient buildings.
New York City last month announced a plan that takes an expansive view of how the city works. It launched an initiative to improve land use, transportation, water quality, building efficiency and electricity generation. The plan is expected to cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent, with subsequent reductions thereafter, but also puts New York City people to work to achieve that goal, creating jobs as it implements the plan.
Other cities are creating the new energy economy through workforce training programs. In June, Oakland California approved $250,000 in funding for a Green Jobs Corps. The program, coordinated through the Ella Baker Center, will provide skills for disadvantaged individuals, giving them opportunities in emerging clean energy markets.
Congress is taking note. In June, for instance, Reps. Hilda Solis of California, John Tierney of Massachusetts and Jerry McNerney of California introduced workforce training legislation similar to the Oakland training program. Also in late June, the Senate passed its own version of the workforce training legislation, introduced by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
In January, the House passed legislation with would direct roughly $14 billion to a clean energy investment fund. It would operate by repealing subsidies for big oil. In late June, the Senate also passed comprehensive clean energy legislation. It would fund programs for building efficiency, appliance efficiency, and advanced renewable fuels. It would set an oil savings target of 10 million barrels per day by 2030.
We have started the march, and the pace is getting quicker. Live Earth will swell the ranks with new participants. Vice President Gore is illuminating the way, and we need to beat the path.
