Geo or "Neo"-Greening

I normally would write about environmental issues over at Birds Eye View, but this seems like a good place to discuss the political alignment of environmental issues. The impetus is this column from Thomas Friedman on what he calls "Geo-Greening", a marriage of geopolitics and environmental thinking. I don't quite agree that the administrations focus on Social Security is a misplaced priority, but I am in full agreement that the Bush team has completely missed the boat on energy and environmental policy. Let's first take a look at Friedman's idea.

By doing nothing to lower U.S. oil consumption, we are financing both sides in the war on terrorism and strengthening the worst governments in the world. That is, we are financing the U.S. military with our tax dollars and we are financing the jihadists - and the Saudi, Sudanese and Iranian mosques and charities that support them - through our gasoline purchases. The oil boom is also entrenching the autocrats in Russia and Venezuela, which is becoming Castro's Cuba with oil. By doing nothing to reduce U.S. oil consumption we are also setting up a global competition with China for energy resources, including right on our doorstep in Canada and Venezuela. Don't kid yourself: China's foreign policy today is very simple - holding on to Taiwan and looking for oil.

Much like our seemingly insatiable demand for illegal drugs, America's thirst for oil is the root source of much trouble, and will be even more so in the coming decades. I'm not convinced that this country cannot change its ways without terrible disruption. Sooner or later we'll be forced to get our act together, and I predict we'll be surprised at how easily we will accomplish it. There are some folks out there who feel that the efficient and sustainable society will be achieved by moving aggressively forward into a future of new technologies. Hybrid automobiles are just the first step. The "Neo-Green" movement, if it can be described as a "movement" at this stage, has a different political mix than the old-line environmental efforts. Visualize fewer Birkenstocks and more cool tech. One of the better sites to check out is World Changing, which collects a lot of the news in this area.

In this essay from last week, Alan AtKisson reveals his vision for a new environmentalism, and this story comments on the Christian groups that are voicing environmental concerns. At some point soon we'll read the same of business groups. One nice benefit of the new sustainable vision is that it often cheaper by virtue of being highly efficient. New industries are going to bloom, and the smart entrepreneurs will be on board.

Here's a tidbit, a story that popped up on World Changing about a novel approach to finding a fusion energy source. "Sonofusion" is a long-shot horse that would return a phenomenal payoff it is comes through a winner, but there is a long way to go. As the author, Jamais Cascio, observes...

what this discovery does do right now is provide us with a friendly reminder that we can't assume that all the tools we'll have for fighting global problems have already been invented. New discoveries, new technological or social innovations add to our response capabilities. While we certainly shouldn't assume that a deus ex machina is going to save us all, neither should we despair that our current abilities are insufficient for the task at hand.

One final treat. The folks who are thinking about 21st Century economics and 21st Century Environmentalism are also thinking about 21st Century politics. This essay by Jon Lebkowsky from last month considers the "new technology-mediated politics" and where it goes from here. As bloggers and blog readers, you're a part of it.