Rhode Island Lies at the Heart of a Green New Deal: Guest MINDSETTER™ Berbrick

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Guest MINDSETTER™ Walter Berbrick

Walter Berbrick PHOTO: Naval War College

The Green New Deal introduced by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) lays out a broad vision to slash greenhouse gas emissions and transition America to renewables within 10 years of the bill’s passing.

To meet this vision, this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the end of the next decade, of building a new modern energy network powered by the sun. But why, some say, the sun? Why choose this as our goal? Because it’s clean, it’s cheap, and it’s unlimited. And the silicon used to make solar cells is nearly infinite--second only to the air we breath. Today’s electrical grid is too old, too expensive, and too vulnerable to blackouts and attacks.

This bold national endeavor demands a new web of load centers, transmission lines, fiber-optic networks, and power farms--the infrastructure that makes permanent security and economic growth possible. If each state built just five square miles of solar panels and connected them to form a giant interconnected grid, we could easily power the entire United States.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

To be sure, this American solar power super smart grid will cost a good deal of money. While such a proposal would cost around $6 trillion, we would spend the same amount anyway in just 8 years if the price of oil were $100 per barrel. Transferring electricity from states that need it least to those that would need it most would bring new economic benefits to communities. Excess capacities of neighboring states would help reduce costs of building new energy projects.

It would be built by Americans for Americans and paid for by a solar trust fund which is fueled by a fair carbon tax—a rare bipartisan solution. Companies would first be required to disclose climate related risks. Although it would be initiated by the Federal government, each level of government—Federal, State, county, and municipal—would contribute to upgrading the Nation's entire energy network over a 10-year period. Every citizen will be invested and all will benefit.

Our potential rests on mobilizing capital and unlocking innovation that meets the needs of communities and workers. And the private sector ought to lead the way. The rise of American ingenuity in clean energy and the growth of our people and our economy rests on new investments in innovation, technology, education, and research.

The kind of investments that allows us to find new ways to store, convert, and use clean energy in a way that preserves our rich history and natural resources; where we can learn how to use artificial intelligence to manage and defend a new national super grid from growing threats by machines, man, and nature; where we discover new ways to harvest energy for biomedical devices and transport new products to new markets; a place where we can build and test new materials to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure; where every student, resident, and inmate can learn the skills they need to fill the clean energy jobs that await; a place where entrepreneurs, industry, and university research teams can take products from lab to market and accelerate clean energy startups; a place tourists can visit and the curiosity of our youth is stimulated.

That place is Rhode Island. And Rhode Island, our Ocean State, with our extraordinary natural gifts, should become the heart of a large renewable innovation community.

The Industrial Revolution started in Rhode Island with the building of Samuel Slater's water-powered cotton mill in Pawtucket. Over two centuries later, America’s first commercial wind farm erected off the waters of Block Island. Today solar farms and windmills have emerged across our state with panels and blades as big as a football field. Even Brown has gone Green.

I am excited that Rhode Island, the smallest state in the union, is playing a big part in making America the world’s clean energy superpower. If we proceed with courage, stay grounded in our core values, and work together, we can bring economic relief and equality for the most vulnerable Americans, create thousands of new jobs, and leave our planet better off than we found it.

Clean air and a livable climate are inalienable human rights. Solving this crisis is not a question of politics, it is a question of survival. Commonsense and compromise at every level of government, especially in Washington, is necessary. And it’s necessary we choose leaders that understand the urgency of this problem and have the vision and courage to do something about it.

Dr. Walter Berbrick is an Associate Professor in the War Gaming Department, the Director of the Arctic Studies Group, and the Area Study Coordinator for the Global Climate Security electives program at the U.S. Naval War College. As a 2016-2017 International Affairs Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), he served as a Senior Adviser to the Special Representative for the Arctic Region at the State Department. He is a CFR term member, Navy veteran, and Community Volunteer Leader with the American Red Cross of Rhode Island. The views expressed here are his own.

Rhode Island Lies at the Heart of a Green New Deal: Guest MINDSETTER™ Berbrick

Related Slideshow: 19 to Watch in 2019 - FULL LIST

Related Articles

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast