Turn disaster into progress
Published 4:19 pm Friday, April 30, 2010
As with the destruction caused by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska 21 years ago, it’s impossible to watch today’s heartbreaking images of oil defiling the shores of Louisiana without some anger.
And if we’re to be honest with ourselves, much of it should be directed inward. Our modern lifestyles, and the economy that supports them, depend on extracting fossil fuels from the earth. “Drill, baby, drill” is a catchy slogan, but the risk that comes with it runs deep.
Last week’s explosion on a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which is gushing an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil into the water each day, was April’s third tragic reminder of those risks. In Anacortes a month ago, seven workers died in a fire at the Tesoro refinery. In West Virginia, an explosion killed 29 coal miners.
As responses go, anger is only useful if it leads to positive change. As a nation, we should channel it into aggressive action in the development of cleaner, safer sources of energy.
Petroleum, coal and natural gas will remain essential parts of our short-term future, and it’s clear that safety must get fresh and concerted attention. But the more we can do now to hasten the day when clean, renewable sources dominate the energy picture, the better it will be for the earth, its wildlife and its atmosphere, as well as the nation’s economy and security.
The recent tragedies should provide plenty of impetus for the U.S. Senate to restart work on a bipartisan energy and climate bill, which was put on hold last week in a partisan spat. Democratic leaders should do what they can to coax Republican co-sponsor Lindsay Graham back to the table, where he has shown political guts in bucking his own party’s leadership.
In our state, where research and production of renewable energy is off to a promising start, political, business and education leaders should embrace the goal of making Washington a leader of the new clean energy economy.
That means investing in education — math and science knowledge will land tomorrow’s good-paying jobs. Our research universities are already helping develop new and marketable forms of energy, and can do more — if they have the financial support — in areas from biomass and biofuels to solar cells and smart-grid technology. We can think of no better strategy for diversifying the state economy and sowing the seeds of prosperity.
Competition for such industries will be keen. China and other countries are making rapid headway. In many ways, we’re already playing catch-up.
America should be leading the innovation revolution in new energy. Let April’s old-energy disasters serve as the wake-up call we need.
