Republicans Have to Start Owning the Green Movement

It’s now time for Republicans to reclaim the “Green” mantle from Democrats.

It was, after all, Republican President Teddy Roosevelt who institutionalized the conservation movement and took it to new heights with his National Parks initiatives. Since then, however, the conservation movement fractured and Republicans unnecessarily ceded the high ground on environmental matters to the Democrats. As the party is rebuilt, Republicans should aim to make conservative-based “green” issues a centerpiece of that effort.

That fact is we all need to breathe cleaner air, drink cleaner water, and substantially reduce the use of energy sources that fund terrorism and Middle Eastern dictators. The disagreement comes in how we can best achieve that goal. By relying too much on the coercive power of government and overzealous social engineers, Democratic policies are incongruent with American ideals and the practical world. They seem to believe economic growth must necessarily be restrained in order to arrest environmental decline. On the other hand, Republican policies are friendlier to both the environment and the taxpayer. Republicans know that a cleaner environment and a prosperous economy need not be mutually exclusive.

We are now witnessing this policy dichotomy on the national stage, where Democrats have unwisely attached themselves to program known as Cap and Trade. If enacted, Cap and Trade would represent an enormous tax increase on all Americans who use electricity— everyone, in other words. According to a recent MIT study, the Cap and Trade scheme would cost the average American household more than $3100 per year—a tax increase few Americans can afford.

There are also reasons to doubt the efficacy of such a program. Europe, which enacted a similar cap and trade proposal, is now scrambling to fix their trading scheme after emissions actually rose by nearly two percent during the first phase of the program and the price of emitting a ton of carbon collapsed from $30 to $1. Furthermore, European laborers who worked for energy-intensive industries suffered as their jobs were shipped overseas to countries that don’t have to meet restrictive energy guidelines. In Spain—the country on which President Obama models his green jobs initiative—2.2 jobs were lost for every one “green” job gained. And these jobs generally paid less.

On the other hand, Republicans have offered green alternatives that would be more effective in reducing pollution and our dependency on foreign sources of energy, while preserving the potential for economic prosperity.

In Oklahoma, my home state, Republicans have led the way to increase market incentives to use alternative energy. The GOP has provided for tax credits for businesses and homeowners to install solar energy equipment and wind turbines for clean wind power. Currently awaiting a vote in the Oklahoma House are Republican bills to provide tax incentives for the construction of energy efficient homes and to require public agencies to adopt energy efficient programs. Unfortunately, the boldest measures to provide advanced, clean nuclear energy are being shot down by those who are stuck in the 1960s. These are all small steps that will have a large, long-term friendly impact on the environment and the economy.

But it’s not enough. States must use their natural competitive advantages rather than relying on the Democrats’ one-size-fits-all approach. Experience shows that once market incentives manifest and burdening regulatory schemes are eliminated, new businesses spring up and old energy companies invest in their state’s natural energy advantages. Oklahoma, for instance, is home to one of the largest wind turbine suppliers and two of the largest natural gas producers.  They are taking advantage of our wind resources to create wind farms and push for greater use of cheap and clean-burning natural gas in homes and vehicles.  

Finally, Republicans in Oklahoma and the rest of the nation must lead the way in updating the energy grid to make it more efficient. Too much energy is wasted in transmission—in fact, some of it, such as wind power, can’t even be transmitted—because of an outdated grid. To his credit, President Obama has already proposed taking the initial steps to update the grid, but his proposal is more tailored to special energy interests than it is to making a comprehensive and durable upgrade.

Politically, ceding environmental issues to Democrats makes no sense. Younger voters, whom the GOP desperately needs, consistently name the environment and energy independence as two of their top issues. These are votes the GOP has likely lost before voting even begins. That can be changed. By aggressively promoting green solutions for energy independence and preserving the environment, Republicans can win over a large portion of voters and perform a public service.

After all, good policy is good politics.

The author is the Young Republicans Chair of Cleveland County, OK.