by James Henry

Created on: March 06, 2009

Yes, but the operative question becomes, when? I would suggest that given the enormity of the economic mess in which we find ourselves, it would be difficult to convince Congress to pass sweeping environmental legislation. The bottom line is that most Americans care about the environment much more when the economy is good. The reason why is because it costs money to pollute less and to clean up the mess that already exists.

If there were a way that President Obama could kill multiple birds with one stone, like building lower emissions standards into any bailout of the automakers, for example, it may be feasible today. I also actually like the President's idea to tax polluters for the "right" to pollute. Let them buy credits that allow them to pump their garbage into the atmosphere, and let the credits be sold to the highest bidder. If a company exceeds their limits, fine the puss out of them!

I know, I know, it's going to be bad for the economy, bad for jobs, because if you fine these polluters too much they will just pass along the expense to their customers, and if the customers stop buying their products because they are poisoning the air we breathe and the water we drink, the next logical step is that these businesses will have to lay off employees, or maybe even go out of business entirely.

Do you know what that is called? It's called Economic Darwinism. Those businesses that can adapt to the changing regulatory climate will emerge from this crisis stronger than before. And new industries will spring up to replace the old. Perhaps if the Big Three auto makers all go belly up, do you really believe that Americans will simply say, "OK, let's buy from Asia"? Some will, of course, but I would suggest to you that if the Big Three did go by way of the dinosaur, it would open doors to new technologies and alternative fuel vehicles that would never have the opportunity to exist and thrive as long as the Big Three are running the show in Detroit.

I know I am getting off topic a bit, but it all makes sense to me. If we can resist the temptation to bail out GM, Ford and Chrysler, let them file for chapter 11 bankruptcy, they will have to reorganize (and I can't imagine a bankruptcy judge allowing any of those companies giving their outgoing CEOs giant golden parachutes). If they emerge from Chapter 11, great! If they don't, there will be new players who will fill the void, and my money is on those players doing things differently than Detroit is doing today. They'll produce vehicles of the future today, and the goal of zero emissions will not be just a science fiction fantasy but an economic reality.

So I believe the reality is that in the long-term, we can create jobs with a green economy, and help clean up the mess we've made of the environment at the same time.

http://www.environmentaleconomy.com

Learn more about this author, James Henry.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.