Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) Discusses the United States' Place in the Clean Energy Economy

What have you been doing on clean energy in Congress?

Well I'm probably one of the more active people in Congress on this issue. I'm co-chair with Steve Israel of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Caucus. I serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and have been very active for several years now trying to get America to fulfill its clean energy destiny that I believe is our country's destiny, so this has been a 24/7 pursuit for me for several years.

Is the United States out of the running on clean energy? How can we get back on top?

I think where we are right now is we're at the beginning of a hundred meter dash and we're at the starting line and the starter has said, "ready, set," he hasn't said "ready, go" yet, but he has said, "ready, set" and I think that's where we are right now. Now the problem is that there's some other countries that are in the blocks on their fingers poised for that "go" when we're just sort of getting the blocks, nailing them into the lane and starting to put our feet in the blocks. So we are not out of the running yet. We're very much a potential competitor, but we need to get in the blocks and we need to get set to go. And we're not ready there yet because the U.S. Senate hasn't passed a clean energy bill yet, the President hasn't signed it yet, we've not established the market signals yet to engage the enormous investment capital that will be available for the clean energy economy once we get those signals set. So we're not out of the running, but we need to get in the blocks very, very quickly because in the hundred yard dash--and that's what this is going to be in the clean energy economy--you can't give the other guy a ten yard head-start and except to catch him in a hundred yards, and it is a dash because as with many high tech situations, the first adopter has a real advantage. You know the first person to get to the market with a commercially viable technology has a huge advantage. And unfortunately other countries including China, Germany and others, have made a very strong national commitment to get out there in front fast in solar voltable techs and wind and a whole host of other technologies.

So we are very eager to get the Senate to follow the House's lead and pass a clean energy bill that will create the messages to the market that we're going to cap carbon pollution, which will immediately drive huge investment to these new businesses; we'll create a renewable energy standard so we get 20 percent of our electricity from clean energy sources; we'll create a whole new part of the tax code to give homeowners and car-buyers and small businesses and large businesses some tax breaks to really adopt these new technologies that will create a new research and development fund so this country can start doing research and development like the original Apollo project that got us to the moon. You know we were spending something like six or eight times at least more in our project to go to the moon that we are on a clean energy project, which has the capacity of saving planet Earth and jumpstarting our economy. So these are all things that we've got to get done in the U.S. Senate in the next few weeks are going to be pivotal.

What needs to happen in the Senate to pass clean energy legislation?

Well you remember the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, James Bond fought Spectre, the evil organization that was intent on world dominion--there's no Spectre behind the science of climate change. In fact the science of climate change is pretty much resolved and the verdict is in. We are changing the climate in ways that are very dangerous and this is clear. So the fact that some people use some language in an email does not change the fact that the glaciers are melting, the Greenland ice sheet is melting, trees are dying by the millions of acres in Idaho and Washington forests because of the beetles, it's not cold enough to kill the beetles anymore. We have huge problems developing in our biological systems because animals cannot essentially respond to these changes. We've got icebergs, you know, huge parts of the Antarctic ice breaking off. We have tundra melting in the north. We've got all of these facts, you can't argue with facts. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but nobody's entitled to their own set of facts. So the fact that some people have stubbed their toes into the scientific community saying some things were wrong like the pace of the melting of the Himalayan glaciers has not changed the fundamental science one iota, and that is very, very clear. But I think there's a way of getting past this. I have concluded that there are a lot of people that are not going to accept clear climate science no matter what you do. You could hit them with 10,000 books written by Albert Einstein and they just don't want to believe it. So let's get around that issue and let's not even have a discussion about climate change. Let's find what we can agree on in the whole American community that we can agree on.

And there's a couple things we can agree on without any dispute. One of which is that the national security risks inherent on being addicted to foreign oil is just too high to run. The risk of having to fight foreign wars to guard our access to fossil fuels is too high a price to play. And all of us, democrats, republicans, climate deniers, we all can agree on that. And so the whole effort that we should have as a nation to wean ourselves off of foreign oil, it happens to save us from climate change, but it also helps our national security and that's something we can all agree on. So we're encouraging our republican friends and the climate deniers--okay, let's not have that debate, if you refuse to accept science, fine, but let's see what we agree on and that's number one, that is national security, the necessity of acting.

Number two, we have an economic necessity of acting. China is going to steal--steal is too strong a word--they intend to dominate the world economy in the production of lithium ion batteries, electric cars, solar voltaic systems, eventually wind turbines, and if we allow them to take these markets over, we will have done a huge disservice to our own job creation. Now this is something we can agree on, republicans and democrats, we don't have to argue about climate change, we should all be together on that.

Point number three: there is something in science that absolutely nobody can disagree on and that is that the oceans are being destroyed--and that's a pretty strong word but it's an accurate on--by the carbon pollution in the atmosphere because they are creating acidic conditions in the oceans. The oceans today are 30 percent more acidic than they were in pre-industrial times because we're putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere out of coal fire plants and it's then dropping out and going into solution in the ocean and when it goes into solution in the ocean, it creates acid. People can understand acid. It's not a friendly concept. And that acid is dangerous to us as people because it has the capacity to make the earth's ocean inhospitable for the things we depend on. I'll give you an example. We have no been able to grow a crop of oysters, of little baby oysters, for two years in the state of Washington probably because--well we know the oceans are more acidic--the reason for not being able to grow them is most probably the acidic conditions of this. And we know that if the conditions continue, in a hundred years, there won't be anywhere on the planet Earth where there'll be healthy coral. Two weeks ago or two months ago I saw Jane Luchenko, who's head of NOA, show a video of what happens when you put a shell in water that is as acidic as it will be a hundred years from now. I'll tell you what happens to it--it melts. And the reason it melts is the acid melts it because essentially the calcium carbonate goes back into solution and the shell melts.

So here's something that there's no dispute about. These are three points--national security, job creation, ocean acidification--we all ought to come together on and move.

What do you think about questions on the legitimacy of climate science?

I'm always kind of reluctant to say, you know, why other people do things. I would just say this--I think that two things that we need the Senate, for Senators to stand up and realize.

Number one: the American people get this and they want strong action on clean energy. I've talked to some of my fellow politicians who seem to say the Americans don't want to act. That's just not right. If you go out and talk to Americans and look at the polling results at Frank Lutz--Frank Lutz is a Republican pollster; he went out and polled on this--guess what? The Republicans found out in their poll that something like by two to one margins Americans want action on clean energy. And the reason they want action on clean energy is they understand like I do that this is the greatest job creation potential engine that is available to us right now. And whatever you think about global climate change, you know and Americans know that this is the way we're going to create millions of new jobs in this country, and that's what the Apollo Alliance is all about, pushing this idea. And Americans get this in their gut. And they're willing to make the investments in the short term to get benefits in the long term and even the short term for job creation. That's number one.

Number two: I would counsel people who don't want to move on this to just get over their fear. Because frankly it's fear that's holding back. It's people who are afraid that Americans aren't smart enough to invent new technologies to deal with that; that we're not bold enough like we used to be when we went to the moon in the original Apollo project. You got to get over that fear. We're just as smart as when we went to the moon. Our kids are smarter than we are. They're just as energetic. We have an entrepreneurial engine of creation of new businesses in this country unparalleled in the world and that includes China if we'll just unleash it. So what I would say, put away your fear, get a little dose of confidence, cast a vote that has trust in Americans' entrepreneurial spirit and we will beat this beast, America will grow economically, and I really believe this, so I hope the Senate gets the message.