Perhaps you’ve seen the ads from wecansolveit.org, which feature unlikely allies like the Reverends Al Sharpton and Jerry Falwell agreeing that something needs to be done to fight global warming (video below).
Politicians and even some oil companies are part of this shift away from the question “Does global warming exist?” to “We have to do something about it.” That’s not to say everyone agrees on the solutions; for example, how coal or even nuclear power fit into our energy mix is a huge area of contention. We’re in to the nitty-gritty of the problem: which solutions are the best to use, who pays for what, how do we respond to markets or populations that are negatively impacted by our decisions?
With all of the solutions out there (many point out that there is no “silver bullet” to the global warming problem but rather “silver BBs”), we’re going to see an increasingly vocal debate on which technologies and policy mechanisms will create the most change, the best change, in the shortest amount of time. There are going to be growing pains as we transition to a clean energy economy. Successful points of view will come from those who frankly address how their technologies or ideas may impact certain sectors of the economy, how they plan to respond to those risks, how much the change will cost, who will pay for it and why.
