A green government?

It seems that a North American country may yet speak up and do something about climate change. No, not Canada, silly. Stephen Harper is cold on climate change and only uses the word turtle in front of neck (I realise the poke isn’t entirely appropriate given that turtles are not intrinsically associated with the environmental movement. But they’re a cute little animal that could be impacted and the joke is the best I can come up with on a breakfast of Honey Nut Cheerios). Rather the Americans seem to be coming around to dealing with climate change. Yes those Americans that live south of Canada! The same America where George W. Bush kindly said to the world, “Burn baby burn” for eight years.

As I write, the top story on the Globe and Mail website is about how going green may help the faltering economy.

Saving the economy and saving the planet at the same time were once considered two mutually incompatible goals. But not any longer.

A chorus of proposals from liberal-leaning think tanks and conservation organizations is suggesting that the best way to revive the faltering economy would be to finance solutions to pressing environmental problems.

Supporters are calling the idea “green stimulus.” They argue that directing new government expenditures to wind farms, solar panels, gas-sipping cars and mass-transit infrastructure, among other items, would give a far bigger boost to the economy than tax cuts or government rebates.

The environmental funding would have the side benefit of helping solve such problems as global warming by spurring the development of less-polluting energy sources and increased energy efficiency.

Meanwhile, a story leading the New York Times has the following tidbit tucked within:

In his only public appearance on Tuesday, Mr. Obama indicated that he intended to move rapidly on one of the most ambitious items on his agenda, tackling climate change. Speaking to a bipartisan group of governors by video, the president-elect said that despite the weakening economy, he had no intention of softening or delaying his ambitious goals for reducing emissions that cause the warming of the planet.

“Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all,” Mr. Obama said. “Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”

Of course whether Obama’s able to actually do something while being pressured to prop up automakers and the entire global economy is another thing. But one idea I’ve read about is the potential to tie an auto-bailout to provisions that will force the major manufacturers to start building electric cars and the like. So in that sense, it’s very possible that the bad economy may help green standards, rather than green standards helping the struggling economy.