Two perspectives on "the green economy"

Hi book club members!

This month we read two perspectives on different aspects of the “green economy”. “Eco-Junk: Why Buying Less Is More Than Buying Green” by George Monbiot is a critical take on the idea that you can shop your way to sustainability. He argues that green trendiness and marketing is at odds with “the central demand of environmentalism: that we should consume less”. He states that “it is easy to picture a situation in which the whole world religiously buys green products, and its carbon emissions continue to soar.” We enjoyed his funny and sarcastic take on the excesses of the environmental elite, yet most of our time was spent discussing the other piece: “The Green Road to Economic Recovery” by Bracken Hendricks.

“The Green Road to Economic Recovery” is testimony that was presented to the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming of the US House of Representatives on September 18, 2008. It presents the case that public investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy is an essential part of an economic recovery program, and that money invested this way will create more jobs and economic stimulus than money spent on petroleum or household consumption. Then it lays out the specifics of such a program.

“Genius!” was one word used to describe the paper. It was seen by many as an exciting, convincing way to address problems of recession, energy dependence and global warming. Others were a bit more cautious, wondering if the plan could really produce such benefits and questioning what the role of government should be in developing the alternative energy industry. We noted that nuclear energy was not addressed in the plan, and guessed it was too controversial to touch. We referred back several times to the energy crisis of the 1970s, and recalled Jimmy Carter’s “Malaise Speech”. His message was generally seen as unpalatable to the American people, and we asked if Hendricks’ “can-do” message would be more inspiring. We noted that both presidential candidates are addressing global warming and energy independence in the debates.

Many were interested in following up on this testimony—who heard it and what became of it. Some information can be found on the committee’s website. On the page devoted to the hearing, they have great video clips of the follow up Q&A! It is interesting that the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 was passed 93-2 by congress several days after this testimony, on 9/23/08. (summary here)

If you are excited about this testimony and want more action, let your legislators know! Go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt and type your zip code in the My Elected Officials box in the right sidebar.

Next time: Consuming Desires: Consumption, Culture, and the Pursuit of Happiness edited by Roger Rosenblatt. Check out the sidebar for the schedule. Happy Reading!

July Lewis