[Pen-l] A green light

["Charles Brown" <charlesb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://metrotimes.com/news/story.asp?id=13482 

A green light 
Amid the gloom of the recession ...  


 
 
By Curt Guyette

The stock market continues to nosedive. Major financial institutions
have crumpled and retirement funds are evaporating. There's no end in
sight to the foreclosure pandemic that hit southeast Michigan before
most other areas. The Big Three automakers are frantically trying to
fend off collapse. With millions of manufacturing jobs lost already, the
immediate future holds the dismal promise of unemployment lines swelling
even more.

But in the gloom, some see a shining green beacon, showing the way
ahead.

"This is the future," says Oakland County Commissioner Jim Nash, a
longtime proponent of green development strategies.

The way he sees it, amid all the negative trends that have combined to
create economic disaster, another convergence also under way offers
hope. Describing what he calls "a sort of perfect storm, but in a good
way," Nash and others point to four factors:

No. 1: widespread realization that continued dependence on Middle
Eastern oil poses a clear economic and national security threat to the
United States. No. 2: the financial imperative to reduce energy costs at
all levels. No. 3: acceptance that climate change must be addressed by
reducing use of carbon-based fuels. All three points demand a change in
the way this nation deals with its energy issues.

Add to this mix No. 4: a new president who has made investment in green
technology and energy efficiency a top priority - with a promised
investment of $150 billion over the next 10 years - and there's no doubt
change is coming, Nash says.

What remains to be seen is whether this beleaguered region will catch
the rising green tide quickly enough to become a leader.

"We were the Arsenal of Democracy," observes Nash. "There's no reason
we can't be the arsenal in the fight against global warming. But if we
don't do it, we are going to be buying this new technology from Germany
and Japan."

And this is no longer an issue of environmentalists always fighting an
uphill battle against those who see them as a threat to economic
development.

As researchers from Duke University's Center on Globalization,
Governance & Competitiveness noted in a report released last week:
"While some seek to pit the environment against economic growth, we see
economic opportunity in the solutions to the climate crisis. Many
business analysts agree. They believe the economic leaders of tomorrow
will be companies that manage their resources efficiently and take the
lead in developing and commercializing innovative clean technologies.
These will also be the companies most able to create well-paying jobs
and ensure that current jobs are secure. The demand for climate
solutions will create - very directly - manifold job opportunities in
many sectors, from core industries such as renewable and energy
efficiency businesses to traditional areas such as construction trades,
pipefitting and electrical jobs. Equally important, though, is the vast
supporting cast of industries that make these low carbon end products
possible."

The Duke report described Michigan as being well-poised to mass
manufacture solar technology.

"U.S. auto production has the capacity to produce over 19 million
vehicles [a year], but only about 15 million of the current capacity is
being used," the report noted.

Another report, this one by the Renewable Energy Policy Project, a
Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, states that "by virtue of its
industrial base, Michigan stands to benefit from the increased demand
for renewable technology."

The way Oakland County's Nash sees it, there is a snowball effect to
promoting a green economy, with local governments being in a
particularly good position to get efforts rolling. A commitment to
pursue energy-efficient building construction and renovation provides
jobs and encourages manufacturers to locate in areas where they know
their products will be in high demand. The hope is that a partnership of
school districts and local colleges, units of local government and the
private sector can be a catalyst for change.

Nash and fellow members of the newly formed Regional Sustainability
Partnership - which includes Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and the
city of Detroit - need look no further than Grand Rapids for an example
of a comprehensive, sustainable philosophy of economic development at
work.

A city of fewer than 200,000 residents, Grand Rapids has leveraged its
reputation as one of America's greenest cities to help spur growth. With
a model that's been recognized by the United Nations, the city obtains
20 percent of its power from renewable resources and has a goal of 100
percent by 2020. As reported in the magazine Fast Company, the municipal
government's energy use has been cut by more than 10 percent, the public
transportation fleet features hybrid buses, and the city leads the
nation in highly energy-efficient buildings per capita.

And it's not just government. As the business magazine pointed out,
local corporations such as office-furniture manufacturers Steelcase and
Herman Miller "here, in the heart of the Rust Belt, are leading the
greenification charge."

The companies are turning "eco-friendly in the belief that reducing the
environmental cost of commerce will raise their profits" and "boost the
regional economy."

It is a philosophy that's working.

Grand Rapids' Renaissance Zone (where tax breaks are offered to spur
business development) "has become the most successful in Michigan" and
"continues to lead the state with the number of new Renaissance Zone
projects," according to the city's website. Over the past 10 years, the
zone has attracted investments totaling more than $250 million.

As the Free Press recently reported: "When Mayor George Heartwell looks
out his office window, he sees an unusual sight in Michigan: a skyline
full of construction cranes.

"The city is experiencing a building boom, and it's green. Four of the
five giant new projects rising downtown are green-built."

Those are the kinds of headlines Nash wants to see being written about
southeast Michigan, which is why he was a strong proponent of
establishing the Regional Sustainability Partnership, which is modeled
on the Grand Rapids effort.

A key part of the plan is to help local governments pursue higher
energy-efficiency standards and promote the use of green technology,
says Nash.

Although the up-front costs might be higher, going green provides
tremendous savings in the long run, says Nash. He points to Ann Arbor,
which replaced its conventional street lights with energy efficient LED
lights at a cost of $3 million but with the potential of saving $1
million a year on electricity.

By helping local units of government to conduct energy audits and
obtain grants to help pay for projects, the partnership seeks to both
help save taxpayer dollars and promote job growth.

He talks about solar panels and wind turbines, electric and hybrid
vehicles, advanced water treatment systems and mass transit, pollution
control technology and energy efficient products ranging from windows to
refrigerators.

Whether it is at a company making LED lights or installing upgraded
installations, there are jobs to be had by going green. And by
cooperating on a regional basis, the chance of obtaining those jobs
improves.

Kathryn Underwood, a staff member at the Detroit Planning Commission
who focuses on sustainability issues, helped spur creation of Regional
Sustainability Partnership, which will have its first meeting in
January.

Energy efficiency, especially, is a "no-brainer," she says. "It is
something everyone - the city, the counties, municipalities, businesses,
households - can grasp."

And if you get everyone on board and moving in the same direction, you
increase your potential for creating jobs.

"If government takes leadership, we can start encouraging folks [from
the private sector] to come in and start doing economic development,"
she says.

There's also the chance of another spin-off benefit: "It's not an issue
that's rife with a lot of controversy. If we, as a region, can come
together and cooperate on this, it paves the way for the region to come
together on more difficult issues, like transit."

"I see the bleakness as a canvas," she says. It's a canvas open to the
prospect of being painted over in bright green.

She adds, "I see a lot of reason to hope."

Curt Guyette is Metro Times news editor. Contact him at 313-202-8004 or
cguyette@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Comments On 12/1/2008 12:52:33 PM, DetroitGlenn said:
Grand Rapids is a great example of the wide range of benefits from
going Green. But when is Detroit going to wake up to this? We have been
working hard to shut down the giant trash incinerator and move to
curbside recycling. This would be a great start to new businesses,
technological development and more jobs in Detroit. But Mayor Cockrel is
dragging his feet. And where are the questions for the other mayoral
candidates. Why arenât the citizens demanding this from the
candidates? It is our city. Letâs take it back and be leaders of the
new Green Cities not followers. 



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