China's Green Innovation and the Challenge for America

The United States is losing its competitive edge against an emerging economic superpower. China is on track to surpass US gross domestic product in 2020 and it is increasingly competing with world renowned American innovation.

China has historically been a global leader in innovation. They are the first nation to invent a wealth of crucial technologies including the magnetic compass, gunpowder, cast iron, paper, printing and the wheelbarrow. The Chinese also invented technologies involving mechanics, hydraulics, and mathematics. But that was many centuries ago, and these technologies were used by the West to establish their technological dominance. Now China is using western technology to grow its economy, but they are also re-emerging as a leading center of innovation.

China is advancing its innovative capabilities by employing a uniquely Chinese approach and by looking to advanced countries for inspiration. The Chinese are now dominating the world in wind turbines, solar panels and high-speed rail.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ (CAS) goals for 2020 include environmental innovation. China is planning to invest $1.5 trillion in strategic areas. This includes alternative fuel cars, alternative energy, high speed rail, energy efficiency and other environmentally friendly technologies.In the annual report to the National People's Congress in March 2010, Premier Wen Jiabao called for "pushing forward with building a smart grid". Over the next five years, State Grid Corp of China, plans to build an "informationised, automatic and interactive" grid with ultra high voltage power lines.When it comes to energy, China has demonstrated a commitment to hydro, wind, gas and nuclear. China has already surpassed many of the targets it set in 2007. The government is expected to unveil new more ambitious targets for alternative energy in the next few months.

China plans to build 13,000 km (8,078 miles) of high-speed rail lines by 2012, more than the rest of the world combined. The country plans to invest 2 trillion yuan in railways by 2020, while building a fleet of state-of-the-art trains.

China also controls 97 percent of the world's rare earth minerals including lithium, a metal that is crucial to the development of the batteries used in electric cars.

Chinese innovation is not limited to cleantech. China is now the number two patent filer in the world. The Chinese are poised to be global leaders in space and DNA-sequencing. China is also working on the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope. China is emerging as a world leader in everything from palaeontology to nanotechnology and in 2011, China will consolidate its position as the second-largest national source of scientific papers.

As outlined in his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama wants to put more emphasis on innovation and education. Obama is not alone, national leaders like Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan share the view that innovation is the key to economic competitiveness

Adam Segal of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and author of the new book: Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge, argues that China is rapidly gaining the advantage in hardware innovation, which includes things like papers and patents. But according to Segal, China cannot compete in what he calls software innovation. Software includes the political, social and cultural understandings that help move ideas from labs to the market place.

However, China is also striving to innovate at the political, social and cultural levels. On February 19, 2011, at an event that was attended by the leaders of China's government, military, state-owned enterprises, financial institutions and institutions of higher learning, Chinese President Hu Jintao called for innovations to improve social management.

America is still the undisputed global leader in innovation and Segal argues that America is well positioned to take advantage of global innovation. "I think innovation is clearly at the top of that list and I also think that it is important that people realize this is an area of strength for us. If you look at how innovation is changing, it is becoming more globalized, spread around the world to all of these newly emerging science and technology centers in China and India. And the U.S., in fact, is well positioned to take advantage of those. We have extensive connections to all of those places through alumni networks, university collaboration and corporate networks. I think the U.S. is better positioned than any country to take advantage of this kind of new global system of science and technology. So I think it's important for the president to point to our strengths and some of the things we need to do as we move forward."

However, without federal government support, America is destined to fall behind. China is one of the world’s largest investors in research and development, their spending on R&D has climbed by 19% per year since 1995 to reach US$30 billion in 2005.

For the United States to maintain its edge in innovation, Segal believes the US will need to keep investing in institutions like the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. But these investments will need to survive Republicans who seem intent on cutting into the fabric of American innovation. If the US is to compete with China it will need to ward off Republican cuts.

Source: Global Warming is Real

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Top 10 Predictions for Sustainable Business and the Green Economy in 2011

1. Business will be getting a lot more sustainable driven by a growing awareness that the green revolution is here to stay.

2. In the absence of legislation and driven by the overwhelming logic of sustainable business, private enterprise will grow the green economy.

3. Public green companies will benefit from an influx of investment capital. Sustainable stock will continue to grow in value as an increasing number of investors realize that the world is in transition to a low carbon economy.

4. Sustainability will drive innovation that will lead to novel technologies and business models.

5. The acknowledgement that supplies of natural resources are finite and in many cases increasingly scarce will lead to new efficiency initiatives.

6. Small and medium businesses will increase their adoption of social channels to reach their customers. This will include participation in social media like Facebook, Twitter and company blogs.

7. Mobile and web technologies will increase e-commerce, customer relations management (CRM), and cloud computing.

8. Supply chain pressure will evolve and get more sophisticated. Companies will examine their impacts up and down the value chain.

9. Biomimicry (the design principle that looks to nature for great ideas), will be integrated into new technologies.

10. Businesses will be closely examining their water usage as the issues surrounding water will become increasingly important.

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Senate Democrats and the Environmental Agenda

Despite midterm election losses in the Senate, the Democrats managed to hang on to a narrow majority. But what does that mean for energy and climate issues?

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has won re-election and will remain Chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Boxer will continue to work for clean energy and the environment.

Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) will retain his position as Majority Leader. Senator Reid has been the President’s lead advocate on advancing renewable energy and regulating the fossil fuel industry.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) will remain the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Senator Bingaman is a lead proponent of a renewable electricity mandate. Bingaman is also an advocate of more responsible rules for offshore oil and gas production.

Besides control of these committees, the Democratic Senate majority could stop the Republican controlled House from getting environmentally destructive legislation onto the President's desk. But we should remember that Democratic Senators have little respect for party discipline and some have demonstrated a propensity to break ranks when they feel it serves their political interests.

Democratic Senators who have betrayed the party, the President and the environment, include Sens. Ben Nelson, (D-Neb.), Jim Webb, (D-Va.). Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.).

With the Democrats holding 23 of the 33 Senate seats being contested in 2012 (including two independents who caucus with the Democrats), Senators will have to choose between pandering to public confusion or taking on the tough issues. It remains to be seen whether Democrats will try to lead America to a cleaner more secure future or follow the polls and cower in fear.


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Democrats Learning the Wrong Lesson from Republicans

Although Republicans are the undisputed masters of the smear campaign, some Democrats are no better. In the 2010 midterm elections, Democrats followed the polls and fell silent on the issue of climate change. In the process, Democrats abandoned their President and their parties agenda.

To gain political favor Democrats used tactics more commonly associated with Republicans. Democratic candidates for the House resorted to attack ads devoid of an issue oriented message. They dug up Republican candidates’ personal financial records and Democratic candidate Ron Klein put his Republican opponent’s Social Security number in a TV ad.

Democratic candidate Frank Caprio told Obama to “Shove it!” on a radio show, referring to the President's endorsement. Caprio subsequently failed in his bid for governor of Rhode Island, but this tactic is reminiscent of South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson shouting, "You lie!" during President Obama's speech to Congress.

Democrats should not look to the Republicans for anything, the right is the wrong direction for America. Rather than engaging the misinformation that passes as fact, Democrats are looking for a strategy to win re-election thereby putting self interest ahead of the national interest.

Democrats need to do a much better job addressing the issues and communicating a party platform that explains the need for action on energy and climate change. Above all Democrats need to stop following Republicans and show America they know the meaning of leadership.


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House Democrats Punished Despite Populist Pandering

Many Democrats are guilty of pandering to populism. Rather than sticking to the facts and communicating the truth, Democratic candidates are avoiding contentious issues to save their political skins.

Although it is clear that Republicans are global warming deniers, the Democrats must also shoulder blame for the failure of Congress to secure climate and energy legislation in President Obama's first term.

Taking their cues from polls, Democrats ignored the environment during the 2010 midterms. They failed to communicate the urgency of climate change and the importance of being a competitive player in the burgeoning green economy. This kind of political cowardice undermines efforts to engage the struggle against climate change and puts American global comptitiveness at risk.

In 2009, the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, also known as the Waxman-Markey energy and climate bill. With increasingly numbers of Americans succumbing to misinformation, Democrats who resisted the bill could be mistaken for a shrewd strategists intent on self preservation.

However, many House Democrats who voted against the bill, lost their bids for re-election. Two dozen House Democrats who voted for the energy and climate bill were voted out of office in the 2010 midterms, along with 19 who opposed the bill.

With the electorate so woefully confused on climate change, America needs leaders that will aggresively engage misfinformation. By following public opinion on climate change rather than leading the discussion, Democrats are reifying the Republican's lies.


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Sustainable Education is Key to Accessing the Green Economy

High unemployment rates and the rising cost of college are causing many students to seek a college education that offers marketable skills.

Education is an increasingly crucial component of preparing a prospective workforce for the new economy. From preschool to post graduate studies, education supplies us with the tools we require to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

In the US, there were 76 million children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in 2007, comprising 27 percent of the entire population 3 and older.

In 2007, almost half of all college students were 18 and 19 years of age, however with 15 percent of all college students 35 and older, higher education is not only for the young. The older age group made up 36 percent of those attending school part time.

Recent university attendance numbers show an increasing number of people are enrolling in school for advanced degrees or specialty training. The projected number of students enrolled in US colleges and universities for fall 2010 is 19 million, up from 13.5 million 20 years ago.

With many losing their jobs or having trouble finding employment going back to school is a logical way to upgrade skills.

A new trend study from the University of California San Diego Extension reveals that sustainability is one of the hottest career options for college graduates in this challenging economy. Sustainable education aims to help people to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge to make informed decisions for the benefit of themselves and others, now and in the future, and to act upon these decisions.

By the mid-21st century, all jobs will be sustainable jobs. Organizations must prepare themselves for inevitable legislative and regulatory changes, some of which are already well underway. We know that the future will be much greener than it is today and increasingly diverse sectors are looking for business growth opportunities in the area of sustainability. People who understand these challenges will be well positioned to benefit.

In the new era of environmental economics, sustainable jobs will be in high demand and have unparalleled growth opportunities.

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