OPPORTUNITIES Michael Welch c. 1993 Michael Welch "Welcome, President Clinton. We hope you have the courage to give us what we need, we hope you have the courage to stand up to the powers that be, and we hope you will make the difference that saves our world from the downward spiral of environmental pollution." We should all take a few minutes to communicate these or similar thoughts to our new President. I maintain that our new president will respond to the wants and needs of the public as long as we keep the pressure up. A Time for Action In every column I have written, I have stressed the importance of all of us helping to make a difference, whether it be by exerting pressure on politicians and bureaucrats, or by voting for the candidates that will most likely change things for the better. Just because we have made an important change in our federal government doesn't mean we can relax our vigilance and efforts. In fact, it is probably more important than ever to Get Involved! We must tell our new government now what it must do! We need to make certain that the new administration puts a high enough priority on these and other important issues. The changes we seek are not going to happen on their own. We cannot allow complacency to take hold of us at this time. Without our pressure, President Clinton will not place enough emphasis on our issues. Jobs Versus the Environment Remember that the main issue of the last election was the economy. Many corporations and special business interests will undoubtedly try to use this to their advantage by claiming that the economy cannot get better if they are required to take better care of the environment. They already are trying to induce the "jobs versus environment" hysteria that is their strategy for increased short term profits. In Northwestern California, I have watched corporations get to politicians and bureaucrats by mobilizing workers with this strategy. It was only through hard work and the correctness of their cause that local activists have been successful in minimizing the damage that these companies would have done. A Workable Solution The issue is not "jobs versus environment." In fact, much success can be had in both areas by cleaning up and maintaining the environment, including the energy field. Just imagine how much money could be made and jobs created in the United States if we were to put the same effort into solar technologies that we put into subsidizing and cleaning up after the nuclear, coal and fossil fuel industries! Our duty is to ensure that our nation does not sleep through the solar age and let other countries become the leaders in the field. So far, the home power industry has grown IN SPITE of political, bureaucratic and corporate efforts to ignore and even derail it. Our young industry would do extremely well with the active support of the Clinton administration and its new energy secretary. That leaves it up to you and me. In order to gain the necessary support we need to make those phone calls and write those letters. The addresses and phone numbers you need are listed at the end of this article. PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS As usual, there's good news and bad news for the renewable energy world. Like everything political, potential cabinet appointments have a lot more to consider than just what is right or wrong. As most of us are aware, factors such as who donated money, who helped a candidate get the goods on someone, and who is supported by influential industries can reach their slimy tentacles into the process of who gets appointed to what. A good sign was that Clinton apparently changed his mind for the better in some cases where environmental, energy and women's groups loudly protested some of his upcoming appointments. This reinforces my above point that we at least now have an opportunity to be heard, and that we already have been effective by using that opening. Secretary of Interior Probably the most promising presidential appointment to date was that of Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt to the position of Secretary of Interior. What a far cry from the likes of James Watt and Manuel Lujan. Babbitt is the President of the League of Conservation Voters and a well-known protector of public lands in the West. This appointment came as a direct result of environmental groups protesting the impending appointment of Bill Richardson. Boy is it nice to be heard for a change. Secretary of State An interesting appointment was that of Clinton transition team head Warren Christopher as Secretary of State. As chairman of the law firm O'Melveny and Myers, Christopher is probably best known as the behind the scenes negotiator that achieved the release of the American hostages from Iran early in the Reagan administration. His negotiating skills are legendary, but he is known to be very closed mouthed about what he is doing. Being an apt negotiator can go either way, however. It all depends on the goal of the negotiation. For example, Christopher once represented Pacific Gas & Electric Company in backroom negotiations that eventually led to the utility receiving extraordinarily high rates of return on PG&E's Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. This in spite of overwhelming evidence of misconduct and unnecessary cost overruns for the construction of the plant. If this is the kind of work that Christopher will be doing on behalf of the Clinton administration, then we'll have to keep a close eye on him. His reputation of not being communicative to the public could work against us. Additionally, his law firm has offices in Japan, and there may be conflicts of interest when it comes to keeping American technologies like solar within our borders. On the other hand, Christopher directed the search team that eventually chose Al Gore, an environmentally sensible person, as Clinton's running mate. Energy Secretary An unknown in the Clinton cabinet is Hazel O'Leary, chosen for the position of Energy Secretary. It has been difficult to obtain information on this person before press time, but it is widely reported in the media that the utility company she worked for, the Minneapolis-based Northern States Power Co., is known for its commitment to renewable energy and conservation. It has been reported that she held the positions of Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs and President of their Natural Gas Division. Northern's energy mix includes nuclear and several forms of fossil fuel powered electric plants. This particular company is known to be quite active among nuclear utilities. She most likely knows about the things an energy secretary must know about, but it remains to be seen if she will go her own road or become a advocate for what utilities want. She doesn't know much about nuclear weapons, which comprises 70% of the DOE's budget, and that is probably a mixed blessing. On the one hand, maybe the DOE will concentrate more on energy and less on weapons, but on the other hand maybe the nuclear weapons industry will be able to overwhelm her lack of knowledge on the issue. It all seems to depend on whom she appoints as undersecretaries in these areas. While she has a reputation in Minnesota as being open and fair, we will still need to keep an eye on Hazel, as well. Transportation Secretary A couple of more Clinton appointments that bear watching are Frederico Pena and John Gibbons. Pena was Denver's mayor and was appointed Transportation Secretary. Pena's "strong" point has been investment in infrastructure; ie. freeways and airports. The question is: do we have a transportation secretary willing to take on mass transit as a major component of our transportation strategy? Folks in Denver liked Pena on several fronts, mostly with regard to his successful efforts to clean up Denver's previously horrible air pollution. His sensitivity to clean air issues may bring us some welcome changes to vehicle air pollution problems. Office of Science and Technology John Gibbons was appointed to head the White House Office of Science and Technology. As a nuclear physicist, Gibbons has a lot of credibility in the scientific community. This, combined with a solid understanding of the connections between economics and the issues we are concerned about, will likely make him a favorable appointment. Let's say that there is a lot of good potential here for helping renewables and energy efficiency. We'll watch these two appointments closely and try to help them out . ENERGY FAIRS On another note, the SEER fair in Willits, CA this year will be taking on an entirely different look. The 1993 version will not include the public exposition that all the previous SEER fairs had featured. This year's fair strategy will probably still retain its electric vehicle rally, but the main focus will be a Solar Summit. SEER staff and volunteers hope to pull together a big meeting that will focus national attention on how to support, promote and obtain our solar future. They intend to include every major group, utility business, and government representative that can help us toward our goals. Call them at (707)459-1256 for more information. If you still want to attend and participate in a peoples energy fair, check out the Happenings section (pageXXXX) for the where's and when's. ACCESS Author: Michael Welch, c/o Redwood Alliance, PO Box 293, Arcata, CA 95521 ù 707-822-7884 Nuclear Information & Resource Service, 1424 16th St. NW, Suite 601, Washington, DC 20036 ù 202-328-0002 Union of Concerned Scientists, 26 Church St., Cambridge, MA 02238 * 617-547-5552 Clean Water Action Project, 899 Logan, Suite 104, Denver, CO 80203 ù 303-839-9866 President Bill Clinton, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,Washington, DC 20500 ù 202-456-2168 Your Senator's name (each state has 2), Senate Office Bldg, Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3121, or try your local phone book Your Representative's name, House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 ù 202-224-3121, or try your local phone book