The Challenge...

When I started this blog I had no idea I would focus so much interest on job loss in America. Granted, this thing is growing organically but I have quickly come to realize that the issue of manufacturing/high tech jobs is the great nexus in America. It is the place where the economy, the environment, and politics come together. It should be the ticket for the Democrats to regain the initiative but, thus far, they've failed to fully pick up the charge.

In the wake of White House inaction on a forward-looking energy policy a real grassroots coalition is forming. Arch conservatives have begun to promote energy indepedence as a national security issue. For instance, here's Frank Gaffney taking up an argument that mirrors the "no blood for oil" cries of red-baited opponents to the first and second Gulf Wars.

"Gaffney, who runs the Center for Security Policy think tank, said he had something of an epiphany on the issue last year after attending a conference on the outlook for Saudi Arabian oil reserves. A longtime advocate of nuclear energy and ballistic missile defense, and a member of the neo-conservative movement that pushed for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Gaffney said he realized it's no longer tenable to send billions of dollars in oil proceeds to the Middle East.

"It's a recipe for disaster," he said. "Most of the places we import from have regimes that are at best unstable and at worst openly hostile to the United States. . . . What are we doing giving all this money to the people who are trying to kill us?"

"I think there are a number of things converging," said Gary L. Bauer, a former Republican presidential candidate and former head of the Family Research Council who has signed on to a strange-bedfellows coalition of conservatives and environmentalists called Set America Free. "I just think reasonable people are more inclined right now to start thinking about ways our country's future isn't dependent on . . . oil from a region where there are a lot of very bad actors."

An Unlikely Meeting Of the Minds

For Very Different Reasons, Groups Agree on Gas Alternatives

- The Washington Post

Progressives have long approached energy independence from an environmental standpoint based on the belief that the only way to really reduce the import of foreign oil is to aggressively pursue alternative fuels while promoting greater efficiency. This is nothing new and the fact that many on the right refuse to acknowledge the overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the idea of human-induced climate change has meant that the two sides have had little to talk about.

The environmental advocates have remained somewhat margainalized because they have yet to make a consistent and convincing argument that the key to job creation is the pursuit of forward-thinking environmental technologies. When they have included the job creation argument it has been as an afterthought, a lesser tiered supporting argument.

Now a new grassroots movement is forming and the movement is putting jobs and security first. As an example, the new North Dakota biodiesel factory was pitched as something that will support farmers, create jobs, improve our national security by lessening our reliance on imported fuels, and create a fuel cycle with less negative environmental impact.

Automobiles make up a significant percentage of U.S. energy consumption but there's a bigger picture and a new organization has stepped forward with an across-the-board, sweeping view of America's energy and economic future. More important, the project is an initiative of major labor unions in league with businesses and environmental groups. Here's the mission statement from the group calling for a new Apollo Project.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy inspired Americans to pursue a goal that seemed beyond our reach: to land a man on the moon within the decade. Eight years later, Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface - proof we can succeed when we apply our expertise, innovation and can-do spirit to a single national endeavor.

Now America has an Apollo Project for the 21st century. Our challenge is to achieve energy independence in one generation. This new Apollo Project, a ten-point plan for energy independence, will bring our country together to rethink and reshape our energy future, to create a stronger economy, a safer world and cleaner environment. The plan calls for diversifying our energy sources, making America less dependent on imported oil and making energy less polluting. It will invest in new technology and expand markets for American durable goods. And, it will increase construction of high performance energy efficient buildings and drive new spending on transportation and public infrastructure.

The new Apollo Project will pay huge dividends: Over 3 million high value added jobs, lower utility bills, increased productivity and competitiveness, cleaner air and water, and improved public health. It will produce substantial energy savings across the economy, and cut our current Persian Gulf oil imports nearly in half.

A new Apollo plan will stimulate the economy and create conditions for sustained long term growth. Just as investments in the space program required the creation of new industries and new products - to smoke detectors, to satellites and cell phones - investing in energy independence will revitalize domestic production and benefit working families.

The Apollo Alliance