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The Green Gap Widens

By Jillian Fellows

For a long time, the U.S. has been the global center for technological innovation. Following World War II, the U.S. leapt ahead of all of its competitors. Part of that success can be attributed to the Cold War with the Soviet Union. A term that can be found in almost any high school history book, the "Space Race," defines a competition between the two nations fighting for supremacy in space exploration. This contest was fueled by the genius and hard work of scientists actively trying to find the next step, the next great invention, as well as unprecedented spending on education and research development by the government. The Space Race led to the U.S. landing a man on the moon and the world has never been the same since.

As the years passed by, technology and the way of the world has shifted. The U.S. now finds itself in another race, a race towards green energy -- and they are losing.

Since renewable resources and climate change have become the hot button topics of the decade, countries around the world have begun developing the technology to take advantage of the sun's solar rays, the wind's speed, or the bubbling hot water beneath the Earth's surface. The U.S., usually the first to leap at new fields of science and assert their innovative dominance, has been surprisingly lackadaisical about the emergence green technology.

In the 2010 Environmental Performance ranking, 163 countries are evaluated according with 25 performance indicators. The top ranked countries consisted of nations like Iceland, Switzerland, and Costa Rica. The U.S. came in at 61.

What has made other countries so quick to engage in green technology? Is it because they have the natural resources necessary to implement such change close at hand, like Iceland, which heats nearly 90% of their homes geothermally? Is it because they have the incentive to protect those natural resources, like Costa Rica, which has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2021 and already gets 95% of their energy from renewable, non-polluting sources so they can protect their rainforests? Or is it because they have the manpower and know-how to become the green tech mass producing giants of the world, like China?

China is the U.S.'s largest competitor when it comes to producing green technology; they produce half of the world's solar panels. China even has a leg up on implementing green tech into its energy policies. Although China is the world's leading source of carbon emissions, they are moving to implement clean energy installations, which is more than the second leading source of carbon emissions, the U.S., can say. China is also likely to invest $1.5 trillion in green tech for transportation and energy development, proving that green is the way of the future.

The Green Gap is not a highly publicized issue. With a failing economy, an irresolute war, and an unemployment rate as high as a kite, the U.S. has other things on its mind. But has anyone in Congress considered that going the green route could help solve some of the nation's problems?

China's production of green technology increases by 77% a year, and green tech now accounts for 1.4% of China's GDP. The U.S. only gets 0.3% of its national GDP from green tech. If the U.S. wants to keep pace with China, then the green job sector should be expanded and invested in. Not only would the research lead to cleaner, renewable energy that would cut down on carbon emissions and lessen dependence on foreign fuel and thereby decreasing expenditure, it would also create jobs. Instead of importing green technology from China, the U.S. could be on the manufacturing and exporting end of that trade. For a more global incentive, developing green tech would be of enormous benefit to the environment, bringing pollution and carbon emissions levels down and preserving a bright, healthy world for future generations.

Like in the Space Race of the 1950s and 60s, the U.S. needs to step up and put money into the future. Education and research development will lead to innovative green technology that will cut costs, create jobs, and help the environment. Keeping the Earth clean is a global responsibility, so the U.S. shouldn't strive to beat China, or any other nation, in production, but they should get in on the act before the Green Gap widens any further and the opportunity is lost.

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