Stimulus Plan?

The United States is in a very interesting economic era. President Barack Obama has created an $825 billion stimulus plan to try and deal with the issues we seem to be having in an ecompassing attack on economic downturn from multiple angles. The plan has many environmentalist supporters and many groups making sure that the stimulus is going in the right direction because this bill will affect environmental concerns and issues across the board and set up the future of environmental policy and planning for our country. The environmental issues brought up in Obama’s very first radio address as president brought up his ideas for alternative energy support, movement to more energy efficient buildings, and new mass transit systems. The stimulus plan is packed with incentive for environmental policy and planning support. It is loaded with billions of dollars being allocated for ideas like energy efficiency, weatherization, “smart grids”, carbon capturing, “green jobs”, along with tax credits and grants for other environmental projects. Is it going to work though? Do we, as environmentalists, want it to work?

Al Gore supports the package and urged Congress to pass President Barack Obama's “green-friendly economic recovery plan”. Gore’s main support came from his belief that “The solutions to the climate crisis are the very same solutions that will address our economic and national security crises as well," he said. "The plan's unprecedented and critical investments in four key areas - energy efficiency, renewables, a unified national energy grid and the move to clean cars - represent an important down payment."

We cannot forget, however that this stimulus plan is mainly for the economy’s sake though, not the environment’s. For a good clip of Obama speaking of the stimulus’ environmental impacts followed by Korten’s perspective go to http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/26/david_korten_agenda_for_a_new.

David Korten is a critic with a very unique point of view that I respect and want to share. He says that our current economic system is failing but there are alternatives to trying to stimulate it. He has come to realize that our current system of economics has created environmental destruction, increased inequalities and augmented social failures. I unfortunately agree, and optimistically hope his ideas will catch on despite my understanding that this is unlikely. Korten’s understanding is that this economic crisis should be used to spur a transition into a reorganization of economic priorities. . His plan is to restructure and reorganize our current system into newer structures through a changing of values from financial success to the support of human and natural well being. Instead of our current consumption driven economics that is dominating the environment, Korten believes in finding a way for us to get into balance with the Earth. Korten just released his new book “Agenda for a New Economy; From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth" concerned entirely with these ideas.