Common Sense on Climate Change Solution #5: Support American Ingenuity
The Manhattan Project. The Apollo Program. The silicon chip. The Internet. Time and again, America has proven that putting together the best minds and the right resources can result in technological breakthroughs that change the course of human history.
Federal research money has already played an integral part in our progress in developing renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency. In the past 20 years, the Department of Energy's efficiency initiatives have saved the country 5.5 quadrillion BTUs of energy and nearly $30 billion in avoided energy costs. Federal research dollars have driven technological advances in fuel cells. This technology, which runs engines on hydrogen fuel and emits only water vapor, is key to moving our transportation system away from the polluting combustion engine and freeing the United States from its oil dependence.
Vigorous support for research and development is critical to achieving practical solutions. Yet, we invest far more in subsidies for the fossil fuel and nuclear industries today than on R&D for renewable energy or advanced vehicle technologies. For instance, Congress appropriated $736 million for fossil fuel research and $667 million for nuclear research in 2001, but only $376 million for all renewable energy technologies combined. The President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology recommended we double spending on energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. This is a good start. Vehicle research should also be increased and refocused on technologies and fuels that can deliver the greatest environmental gains, including hybrid and fuel cell cars, renewable ethanol fuel, and the cleanest forms of hydrogen production.
In addition, we should continue to study storing carbon underground (geologic carbon sequestration) as a potentially viable way to reduce CO2 released into the atmosphere. CO2 could be captured at the power plant or other production unit and returned underground. While this technology holds some promise, it is still under development and its environmental impacts must be fully explored before it is widely implemented.
Dumping in Our Oceans
Although a few government agencies and private-sector researchers are exploring the possibility of "fertilizing" our oceans with iron to enhance their natural capacity to absorb carbon, it is unwise to clean up our atmosphere at the expense of our oceans. This approach holds serious risks for marine animals and plants, disrupting the marine web of life.
Another form of marine sequestration, which involves injecting liquid carbon compounds into the deep ocean, is also being explored. Environmental consequences are not yet understood, but could be serious. We must fully evaluate its impacts before any widespread application.
What You Can Do
The Union of Concerned Scientists is dedicated to using sound science to guide the choices we make on the issue of climate change. We invite you to join us in these efforts. Help us enact government policies that will bring practical solutions to consumers, providing you with choices that save money and increase the quality of life in your community.
Visit our Action Center, where you can help shape policy by sending a fax or email directly to your legislators. Join our Action Network and we'll contact you with updates about issues you're concerned about. Or, support our work on climate change by becoming a UCS member.
While the United States has a clear-cut moral responsibility to lead the way internationally, we also have the financial and technical expertise that will help us reap the economic benefits of new markets for clean technology exports. If, however, we choose to sit on the sidelines as the rest of the world moves ahead, we will lose our competitive advantage to Europe and Japan.
The United States is not currently engaged in international climate efforts such as the Kyoto Protocol, but in the absence of federal leadership there are a number of states and regions that have taken up the responsibility for initiating real climate reductions, including the Northeast and California.
