Obama Makes Case to a Reluctant Virginia

Virginia officials have been resisting new federal efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay through the issuance of pollution limits in a new Bay pollution “diet” (technically known as the draft Total Maximum Daily Load).

Yesterday, President Barack Obama took on these complaints during a dialogue about the economy with residents in south Richmond. And the President made the point that improving the  environment often helps the economy, instead of hurting it, as critics often claim.

“For a long time we tended to think of the environment in conflict with the economy, right? The notion was clean air, clean water is nice to have, but if it comes down to it, it's more important that we have jobs,” Obama told the audience.

“The point you're making is that clean air and clean water can improve the economy and create new jobs if we think about it in creative ways. And that's part of the argument that I've been making about clean energy,” he said.

The President went on to give an example about how American industry needs to shift toward manufacturing products like batteries for hybrid and electric cars, so that foreign countries don’t monopolize this clean-energy market.

It was a good illustration. But here are more local examples for the Chesapeake Bay region.  If EPA moves ahead with its proposed Bay pollution limits, municipalities in Pennsylvania (for example) might have to install more up-to-date pollution control equipment on their sewage treatment plants.  Projects like these will create jobs because they will require the hiring of construction workers, electricians, engineers and others.  Farmers in Virginia could (in theory) be required by the state to build fences to keep livestock out of streams, so they don’t pollute the water.  A wave of fence construction projects would also stimulate jobs.

Moreover, even after these projects are over, the improved water quality in the streams and rivers would also improve the economy over the long run.  The region’s tourism economy depends on boating and fishing, and even real estate values tend to rise when an area has a good image as a clean and desirable place to live.

Just as a person’s physical fitness helps his or her overall health and chances of being hired and  keeping a job, so the Bay’s pollution “diet” will help our regional economy.

------------------

Here is a transcript of the exchange between the President and the resident of Richmond yesterday:

QUESTION FROM MAN IN THE AUDIENCE: I’d like to ask you about a local and regional issue -- the James River that runs through Richmond here and the Chesapeake Bay into which it goes. The Perrys depend on the James River to make a living with their outfitting company. Your EPA has very thankfully initiated a wonderful effort to finally clean up all the waters that enter the Chesapeake Bay.

However, our state government is resisting playing its part, whereas going ahead with this cleanup would create thousands of private sector jobs as well as the benefits from clean water and better fish. They’re saying that we can’t afford to do this in this economy, when actually doing it would be the kind of thing that would help the economy and our waters recover. Do you have anything to say about that?"

THE PRESIDENT: "Well, I agree with you, and I’ll pass on your suggestions to Mr. McDonnell -- (laughter) -- because -- look, the point you make I think is important as sort of a general point, which is for a long time we tended to think of the environment in conflict with the economy, right? The notion was clean air, clean water is nice to have, but if it comes down to it, it’s more important that we have jobs.

The point you’re making is that clean air and clean water can improve the economy and create new jobs if we think about it in creative ways. And that’s part of the argument that I’ve been making about clean energy.

Let me give you an example. When I came into office, we were producing about 2 percent of the advanced batteries that are used in hybrid cars and electric cars -- 2 percent of the market. And we were probably just barely hanging on. Eventually, if you only got 2 percent of the market, you’re going to end up with zero percent of the market.

So what we did was we said as part of the Recovery Act, let’s invest in a Made in America, homegrown battery manufacturing effort. And we now have across the country people working in factories making advanced batteries that are going into American-made cars, because what we also did at the same time was we raised fuel-efficiency standards on cars and trucks for the first time in 30 years. We didn’t do that, by the way, through legislation. We actually got autoworkers and auto companies and environmentalists and all the stakeholders to agree on raising fuel-efficiency standards nationally. So it didn’t get a lot of attention, because there wasn’t a big ruckus in Washington, we just did it.

And so automakers now want to make more fuel-efficient cars, and we now have the advanced battery manufacturing here in the United States to take advantage of that new market. We estimate that by 2015, we’re going to have 40 percent of the advanced battery market.

So you’ve got a homegrown manufacturing industry here in the United States, putting people to work in good jobs and good wages. But that wouldn’t have happened if there wasn’t a market for clean cars.

That’s one of these guy’s -- one of those mics is going off, so I think we’re good. (Laughter.)

But I want everybody to understand there are going to be some times where we do have to make some choices. I mean, coal is a good example, where -- coal is a dirty-burning fuel, and mining coal can often be environmentally really destructive, particularly to rivers and waterways. On the other hand, we’ve got tons of coal. We’re the Saudi Arabia of coal.

So what I’ve said is, well, let’s invest in research and development to see if we can burn coal cleanly. And if we have regulations that provide incentives for coal companies to burn coal cleanly and mine coal cleanly, they’ll adapt and they’ll start using new technologies, and that will create a more future-oriented growth industry.

But a lot of folks resisted. Their attitude is, well, no, we don’t want to change anything. We just want to keep on doing what we’ve been doing.

Sooner or later, the world passes you by. China, India, Japan -- all these countries are all thinking about new ways to find clean energy. And if we’re not the ones who get there first in terms of figuring this stuff out, then they’re the ones who are going to get the jobs of the future. And I don’t want them to get those jobs. I want us to have those jobs right here in the United States."

-------------------------------

By Tom Pelton

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

(Photo courtesy of White House)

Comments

[John Koontz]

However, the Congress with a Democrate majority is about to excempt farmers from the new Chesapeake Bay bill. They all talk the talk but when it comes down to hard choices they don't walk the walk.