Green Bailout Plans

Barack Obama promises environmentally friendly industrial policies and Ford responds by playing the green card. But happiness about a green America is premature.

During the campaign, Obama said he could be recognized by his green outfit. Wherever the President Elect goes these days, he tries to be as green as possible: no bailout plan for the automobile industry unless it starts producing fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly vehicles; no billion-dollar infrastructure investment for cities and states that don’t include plans for public transport and other green projects; no concessions to industry that don’t include limits on pollutants and carbon offsets; no trade agreements that do not contain provisions for health and environmental protection; no international contracts without regard to the effects on the climate.

His threats have already begun to have an effect. In Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Ford announced plans to start producing hybrid and battery-powered vehicles. General Motors and Chrysler haven’t gotten that far yet. CEOs of all three companies left their corporate jets at home for this session after being mocked for flying to the last hearing. Ford CEO Alan Mulally drove the 500 miles from Detroit to Washington in a Ford Escape hybrid. During the trip, he expressed his doubts about the survivability of the other two car companies in a telephone call. That, naturally, didn’t go over very well with them.

Likewise, America’s Governors met in Philadelphia this week announcing plans for new energy-efficient houses and airports as well as solar and wind facilities. Barack Obama was also in attendance. Europe welcomes a green America that will finally participate in the coming climate conference in Copenhagen to be held in December 2009.

But don’t jump the gun: joy about a green revolution is premature. Opposition is taking shape, and one dissenting voice comes from Obama’s own backyard. Congressional Democrats close to labor unions won’t allow the auto industry to go broke, not even if they dig in their heels and claim they’re unable to modernize so quickly. Experts have discovered that every tenth job in the U.S. is connected to the automobile industry. Additionally, planning for new public rail networks and other environmentally friendly projects takes years and there are also many bureaucratic hurdles to be overcome.

Obama’s administration wants to pump the economy up and fill those promised 2.5 million new jobs sooner rather than later. They could start by giving shovels out to start filling in the countless potholes in American roads so that cars don’t have to drive single-file in order to prevent axle damage.

The future of coal-fired power plants is as yet in limbo. There’s no such thing as “clean coal” despite prayerful assertions to the contrary and there may never be. But the Governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Montana are sitting on enormous coal reserves that they want to exploit. Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania, said early this week, “We have more coal than Saudi Arabia has oil. It would be fatal not to use this resource.”

Before Obama commits the United States to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and adhering to mandatory international limits at the Copenhagen conference, a lot of CO2 will be pumped into the atmosphere and a great deal of pollution will flow down the Mississippi. Obama’s transition team director, John Podesta, cites the need for the United States to get its own house in order as a prerequisite to leading a global effort on pollution. That can take a long time. A very long time. And if members of the new administration seem enthusiastic about energy efficiency, first and foremost in their minds is one thing: energy independence.

In energy independence, they see a wonderful new foreign policy weapon to be used against the unshakable oil and gas potentates in Arabia and Iran, Russia, the Caucasus, Africa and South America. Obama’s followers aren’t pleased by the fact that the Europeans – and especially the Germans – are dependent on Russian pipelines.

There’s still a red, white and blue flag pin in the lapel of that green jacket Obama’s wearing.