Freeing our economy from its dangerous addiction to fossil fuels and averting the calamitous risks of climate change will require a major technological transformation in the way we produce, transmit, and consume energy. Inventing, developing, building, and deploying these new technologies will require a new era of American technological innovation. The result will be new industries and jobs, along with more clean energy and less pollution.
The good news is that we know that innovation is a fundamental driver
of economic growth, and America has led the world in innovation for the
past
two centuries—from
the mechanization of textile manufacturing in the late 18th century to
the invention of the Internet in the late 20th century. Innovation is
America’s first and greatest competitive advantage—or, as President
Obama said “it’s
in our DNA.” Twenty-first century clean energy technologies are
already being designed, built, marketed, and installed to replace more
than a century’s worth of entrenched fossil fuel infrastructure, and a recent report by
the Department of Commerce indicates that there are nearly 2 million
clean energy jobs in our economy today, with more on the way.
To read the full, original article click on this link: How to power the energy innovation lifecycle « Climate Progress
Author: Sean Pool is the Special Assistant for Energy Policy at the Center for American Progress. You can read the full report here.
