The economic crisis is having lasting effects on the lives of everyone across the world. Each month, job reports are released showing the latest casualties of the job market. Hundreds of thousands each month…a half a million jobs for April alone. Many economists think that the worst may be over, pointing to the fact that things are getting worse more slowly these days. A sign of the times for sure, that half a million people lose their jobs in one month alone and people are relieved because it could have been worse. In fact, many other economists think we may be in a recession for years to come.
The exact amount of time remaining until the US economy recovers may be disputed, but many more people recently believe we are headed in the right direction compared to 6 months ago. And I would say most believe that a recovery is inevitable at some point. So, what will our economy look like in one year’s time? Two year’s time? Do a lot of people believe that we will go back to where we were before the crisis? Probably not. There will be fundamental changes in the way our economy functions, the way our society works. For example, a recent New York Times article states that one of the lasting impacts of the economic crisis is a higher savings rate for the average person. That has mixed effects on our economy over the long-run. While it’s a great virtue for the individual to save money, it has negative effects on businesses who rely on consumer spending, and therefore, many jobs rely on consumer spending. But, it does mark a change in culture. Many people feel that the days of living beyond our means are over. The economy was bound to falter when people had a negative savings rate, i.e. spend more than they actually have. Moving forward, we will have to build our economy on more solid ground, rather than making money from money.
One possible way to create a more solid foundation for the future of our economy is to build a “green” economy. Too much money has gone to importing oil from unfriendly petro-dictatorships. Too much coal is being burned, putting our planet in peril. By shifting our economy away from these non-renewable resources towards greener sources of energy, we can build an economy that creates green jobs, keeps our planet clean, and the US can be the leader on this technology. Renewable energy continues to grow, despite serious setbacks from the economic crisis and the credit crunch. As car factories shutter their windows, manufacturing jobs begin to disappear. But, all the solar panels and windmills that need to be built will require skilled workers to do so.
Of course it’s not as easy as it sounds. Green energy needs to be as competitive with fossil fuels, economically speaking. Solar panels and windmills can’t just be installed quickly and easily. You need transmission lines to carry the electricity from the windmill (often in the middle of nowhere) to the city that needs the electricity. The transmission lines need to be constructed across multiple states, and there are disagreements over who pays and who gets paid for such things. Wind and solar energy still only amount to a couple percent of our total energy usage.
BUT, encouraging news is coming in. The American Wind Energy Association recently published interesting results for the first quarter of 2009. “The wind energy industry installed over 2,800 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity in the first quarter of 2009, with new projects completed in 15 states and powering the equivalent of 816,000 homes, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced today in its first quarter market report.”
The following states experience rapid growth in wind energy in the first quarter of 2009 (% growth)
We are making progress. But, there are tons of things you can do on your own too. Enchanting Challenge catalogs different undertakings by socially conscious people to try to make small improvements to our world. No matter how big or how small, you can contribute to the environment, your community, and the people around you. Sign on at www.enchantingchallenge.com and add your personal challenges!
