Republicans must own the green movement

By Joe Fairbanks

Now is the time for Republicans to reclaim the “Green” mantle from Democrats.

Broken Bow Lake in Oklahoma

The fact is we all need to breathe cleaner air, drink cleaner water, and substantially reduce the use of energy sources that fund terrorism and Middle Eastern dictators. The disagreement comes in how we can best achieve that goal. By relying too much on the coercive power of government and overzealous social engineers, Democratic policies are incongruent with American ideals and the practical world. They seem to believe economic growth must be restrained in order to arrest environmental decline.

On the other hand, Republican policies are friendlier to both the environment and the taxpayer. They know that a cleaner environment and a prosperous economy need not be mutually exclusive.

We are now witnessing this policy dichotomy in Washington, where Democrats have unwisely attached themselves to a program known as Cap and Trade. If enacted, Cap and Trade would represent an enormous tax increase on all Americans who use electricity. According to a recent MIT study, the Cap and Trade scheme would cost the average American household more than $3,100 per year — a tax increase few can afford.

There are also reasons to doubt the program’s efficacy. Europe enacted a similar cap and trade proposal and is now scrambling to fix their trading scheme after emissions rose by nearly 2 percent during the first phase of the program and the price of emitting a ton of carbon collapsed from $30 to $1. Furthermore, European laborers who worked for energy-intensive industries suffered as their jobs were shipped overseas to countries that don’t have to meet restrictive energy guidelines. In other words, the Cap and Trade proposal will be all pain and no gain.

On the other hand, Republicans have offered green alternatives that would be more effective in reducing pollution and our dependency on foreign sources of energy. The policies are more desirable not only because they would be more effective, but because they would preserve the potential for economic prosperity.

In Oklahoma, Republicans have led the way to increase alternative energy use. They have provided for tax credits for businesses and homeowners to install solar energy equipment and wind turbines for clean wind power. Currently awaiting a vote in the House are Republican bills to provide tax incentives for the construction of energy efficient homes and to require public agencies to adopt energy efficient programs. These are all small steps that will have a significant, long-term friendly impact on the environment and the economy.

But it’s not enough. We must take advantage of our wind resources to create large-scale wind farms and push for greater use of clean-burning natural gas in homes and vehicles. Unfortunately, the boldest measure to provide clean nuclear energy was shot down in the Senate by senators stuck in the 1960s. This measure must be revived next session.

Lastly, Republicans must lead the way in updating the Oklahoma energy grid. Much of our energy is wasted in transmission because it is dilapidated and inefficient. Once enacted, the benefits of these policies would be realized immediately and provide an economic boost.

Politically, ceding environmental issues to Democrats makes no sense. Younger voters, of which the GOP is in dire need, consistently name the environment and energy independence as their top issues. These are votes the GOP has likely lost before voting even begins. We can change that. By aggressively promoting our green solutions for energy independence and preserving the environment, we can win over a large portion of voters and perform a public service.

After all, good policy is good politics.

Joe Fairbanks is chairman of the Cleveland County Young Republicans.  This editorial was published by SpliceToday, The Oklahoman and the Tulsa World.