Thomas Friedman on Why Cap & Trade will Benefit Us

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has an excellent article up explaining why putting a price on carbon emissions will enable the United States to lead the world in the production of clean energy.

Here’s the key point on energy from the draft report of the president’s Economic
Recovery Advisory Board: “If the U.S. fails to adopt an economywide carbon
abatement program, we will continue to cede leadership in new energy technology.
The U.S. is now home to only two of the ten largest solar photovoltaic producers
in the world, two of the top ten wind turbine producers and one of the top ten
advanced battery manufacturers. That is, only one-sixth of the world’s top
renewable energy manufacturers are based in the United States. ... Sustainable
technologies in solar, wind, electric vehicles, nuclear and other innovations
will drive the future global economy. We can either invest in policies to build
U.S. leadership in these new industries and jobs today, or we can continue with
business as usual and buy windmills from Europe, batteries from Japan and solar
panels from Asia.”

Green energy isn't a boondoggle or an issue only important to the left. Energy sustainability is good for the U.S. because it means we can reduce how much oil we import, keeping those dollars home. Even if we have coal and gas reserves to sustain us, the rest of the world doesn't. They will need nuclear, wind and solar and we should be ready to sell them the essential technology they will need. Friedman is correct in asserting that fourth place is not a good position for the U.S. to be in when it comes to clean energy technology. Growing pains now may be worth a gold rush later.