Al Gore tells Obama to work with Big Three on plug-in hybrids, unplug the ‘clean coal’ lobby

Former Vice President Al Gore wants President-elect Barack Obama to reaffirm his pledge to get the United States off of carbon in 10 years. After making the case as to why it’s imperative, Gore lays out the following five-step plan in Sunday’s New York Times:

First, the new president and the new Congress should offer large-scale investment in incentives for the construction of concentrated solar thermal plants in the Southwestern deserts, wind farms in the corridor stretching from Texas to the Dakotas and advanced plants in geothermal hot spots that could produce large amounts of electricity.

Second, we should begin the planning and construction of a unified national smart grid for the transport of renewable electricity from the rural places where it is mostly generated to the cities where it is mostly used. New high-voltage, low-loss underground lines can be designed with “smart” features that provide consumers with sophisticated information and easy-to-use tools for conserving electricity, eliminating inefficiency and reducing their energy bills. The cost of this modern grid — $400 billion over 10 years — pales in comparison with the annual loss to American business of $120 billion due to the cascading failures that are endemic to our current balkanized and antiquated electricity lines.

Third, we should help America’s automobile industry (not only the Big Three but the innovative new startup companies as well) to convert quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run on the renewable electricity that will be available as the rest of this plan matures. In combination with the unified grid, a nationwide fleet of plug-in hybrids would also help to solve the problem of electricity storage. Think about it: with this sort of grid, cars could be charged during off-peak energy-use hours; during peak hours, when fewer cars are on the road, they could contribute their electricity back into the national grid.

Fourth, we should embark on a nationwide effort to retrofit buildings with better insulation and energy-efficient windows and lighting. Approximately 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from buildings — and stopping that pollution saves money for homeowners and businesses. This initiative should be coupled with the proposal in Congress to help Americans who are burdened by mortgages that exceed the value of their homes.

Fifth, the United States should lead the way by putting a price on carbon here at home, and by leading the world’s efforts to replace the Kyoto treaty next year in Copenhagen with a more effective treaty that caps global carbon dioxide emissions and encourages nations to invest together in efficient ways to reduce global warming pollution quickly, including by sharply reducing deforestation…

He also takes the opportunity to let President-elect Obama know exactly what he thinks of so-called “clean coal” technology:

But in every case, the resources in question are much too expensive or polluting, or, in the case of “clean coal,” too imaginary to make a difference in protecting either our national security or the global climate. Indeed, those who spend hundreds of millions promoting “clean coal” technology consistently omit the fact that there is little investment and not a single large-scale demonstration project in the United States for capturing and safely burying all of this pollution. If the coal industry can make good on this promise, then I’m all for it. But until that day comes, we simply cannot any longer base the strategy for human survival on a cynical and self-interested illusion.

My hope is that Obama takes these words to heart.

As Obama mentioned during Friday’s press conference, one of his first actions as president is going to be to deliver an economic stimulus bill to Congress. If, like previous stimulus packages, the Obama plan just puts a few hundred dollars into the pockets of American taxpayers, encouraging them to go out and spend it, I don’t think it will work. It might bring temporary benefits to the economy, but it won’t move us forward as a nation.

What we need is a stimulus package that creates jobs and builds infrastructure, and thankfully, as Gore points out in his op-ed piece, we can accomplish both at the same time.

Coincidentally, the Chinese today announced a $585 billion stimulus package of their own. While alternative energy infrastructure didn’t appear to be mentioned specifically as part of the Chinese plan, one imagines that it’s probably a component as well, alongside the transportation and housing projects announced.

Regardless, the United States would be foolish not to initiate a plan like that described by Gore. If we’re going to reverse global warming and wean ourselves from foreign oil, we need to take bold, ambitious steps.

Cutting taxes alone won’t get us there.