Washington State's Dept of Transportation is using a $1.32 million federal grant to turn Interstate 5 into the nation's first "electric highway." There will be enough charging stations for EVs to travel the 276 miles from the Canadian border to the Oregon state line.
General Electric is introducing the GE WattStation in 2011, grid-compatible EV charger, which allows for "uncomplicated integration of quick EV charging into peoples' everyday activities," says the company. Designed to be used at home, it decreases charging time from 12-18 hours to 4-8 hours while hooking people up to the smart grid - where utilities can manage the impact of electric vehicles on local and regional grids. GE Capital will offer financing and is partnering with ServiceMagic to provide certified electricians that can install WattStations in homes.
Meanwhile, Volvo is working with London's Imperial College in London to create a composite material that can turn a car's body panels into an energy source. In three years, Volvo thinks they'll convert a vehicle's spare wheel recess into a composite battery, and within a decade, they could commercially produce the material for roofs and dashboards.
These are just a few examples of positive momentum building toward a green economy if Republicans aren't able to unravel it. On the negative side, we've already seen some of the world's largest solar and wind firms cut back on their commitment to the US because of our inability to pass energy and climate legislation.
The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and North Dakota Farmers Union enrolled 8,000 producers on 11 million acres of land in a program that pays them for not tilling their land, among other carbon sequestration methods. The program demonstrates that farmers can profit by earning and selling carbon credits to buyers that need to reduce their carbon footprint. Those programs are shutting down now and farmers will return to plowing their land.
The big question is, how can we overcome partisan politics and special interests, which are still intervening against society's best interests?
Whether it's climate change, peak oil, energy security, keeping the billions we spend on oil at home to grow our own economy, or competing with the likes of China for leadership in new industries, such as wind and solar, everyone can find a reason to support moving to a carbon neutral society.
It's comforting that so many segments of society - and for the first time, the scientists themselves - are mobilizing to defend the transition to a green economy. But that's just about convincing people that we must act against the looming threat of climate change.
The flip side is even more important - we must find a way to help people see, taste, feel the promise of a clean energy-based society. Only when individuals, businesses and politicians get excited about the future -and see it as in their best interest - we will be able to stop haggling and start progressing. The missing link continues to be a lack of a positive, compelling vision that we're all working toward - a healthy, stable society that people can buy into and feel inspired by.
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Rona Fried, Ph.D. is president and founder of SustainableBusiness.com.
