Capping CO2 emissions has wide support

A new Washington Post - ABC News poll says three quarters of Americans support regulating "the release into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases from power plants, cars and factories to reduce global warming, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, with substantial majority support from Democrats, Republicans and independents."

A slight majority - 52 percent - favor cap and trade as the means to achieve that regulation. I'm betting that a majority of those in favor as well as those opposed could accurately describe what cap and trade is and who it applies to under Waxman-Markey. Still, the support shows that this idea's time has come, and not a moment too soon.

In six months, the world will convene in Copenhagen to negotiate a new international climate agreement that might be pivotal in the survival of the planet and human life beyond the 21st Century.

Top Ten Energypreneur Benefits of passing HR 2454 Friday

10. People won't think you're as cooky when you run through the streets shouting "CLEAN ENERGY IS COMING! CLEAN ENERGY IS COMING!"

9. You can go back to school to get a degree in "Alternative Energy Engineering" or "Wind Power Science" or a BS in "Distributed Electricity Generation Sciences." The possibilities are endless becaue the bill invests in new academic programs for the green sector.

8. You can call your out of work cousin or uncle and say "I think I've found the perfect job for you: energy auditor."

7. In that vein, being "audited" won't be a bad thing. it will SAVE you money.

6. The real price of inefficency and pollution will finally be part of the price of energy, making pollution free, high efficient energy the force to be reckoned with.

5. New career in America: Carbon Trader. Mad Money will have a lot more to talk about.

4. A new excuse for Dad to use when he's at the store: "But honey, we need a new TV/Microwave/Stereo/Computer/DVD player - this one is MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT!"

3. Skilled tradesmen will have lots of work building new, highly efficient homes - and low income people who have homes from pre-1976 will get assistance buying new ones.

2. There will finally be a place to plug in your Chevy Volt besides the garage.

1. A new cultural phrase - "As American as green energy."

Being the Nexus

Everyone assumes the new energy economy will take hold easily - like dandilion seeds kicked up by the neighbor kid trapsing through the yard. That we won't have to help it along or force the market to change. Not so.

The transition for the American economy from a high carbon, high waste, high consumption model to a lean, efficient, and low carbon one will take incredible heat, pressure and persistence. Imagine lacing your shoes with steel shoe laces. Yeah, sort of like that.

Tilde Herrerra calls this a New Era of Climate Thinking in a post today on Greenbiz.com.  Tilde sites the recent remarks of Mary Nichols of the California Air Resource Board about the immense opportunity that carbon cap and trade presents for American companies

“So obviously companies that can figure out ways to cost-effectively create products that people want to buy, or things that people need, and do it with the lowest overall lifecycle impact on climate are the big winners in this new economy,” Nichols said Thursday during a keynote speech at the West Coast Summit of the Women's Network for a Sustainable Future in Santa Clara, Calif."

Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be that easy. Here's why.

First, a majority of the businesses in America are small businesses, which tend to have owners and managers that are so consumed with operations and survival in their area of impact they have neither the time or energy to commit to understanding "the greening" of their business.

Second, a misconception exists that carbon management and sustainability only really applies to the Wal Marts and US Steels of the world. The little guy or gal has no need to change his or her ways to reduce net imacts. (Meaning, they'll wait until the bloody last minute to act).

And therein lies the OPPORTUNITY. Businesses that can serve as the nexis between the greening industry (solar, wind, biomass, high efficiency, green roofs, and the lot) and the existing industry (pizza shops, grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors' offices, municipal buildings, and a host of so many others large and small) could stand to be the BOOM of the new energy era. 

Think of it this way. Millions of small, medium and large business owners are going to need someome to help them make a fast transition, and it won't be someone they can afford to hire, train, and be on staff full time. But they certainly would team up with industry partners, business neighbors, or vendors they do business with to hire consultants to help them make the transition to sustainability.

Ultimately what spells success in this arena? Understanding that to be successful the approach has got to be about how to make the existing business more profitable and less impactful. Each step towards sustainability must be towards the core competencies and strengths of the business.  Technology should be utilized to maximize energy monitoring power. And most of all, focus on the three highest net impact areas first. For many businesses, the low-hanging fruit will be reducing electricity waste, implementing electricity efficiency, and exploring a sustainable local supply chain. 

What are you doing to build the new energy era? Get off your carbon emitter and get to action because the opportunities are passing you by.

Excuse me. How much is this carbon?

Do you know how much carbon you emit through your job? Here's a better question: In the not-so-distant future, will your company see you for what your bring to the job or for how much carbon you're costing the company?

That second question is one nearly none of us have ever considered at work, but in the new energy century, businesses will assuredly be required to keep account of every ton of carbon dioxide they pollute annually.  What are the accounting practices and procedures we'll use to add up all those invisible but deadly plumes of carbon dioxide? What will the price be for a ton of carbon credits? What is the penalty be for exceeding your annual limit?

These critical questions are part of the new energy century and will be coming to an office, factory, or pizza shop near you. But have no fear: carbon cap and trade is a financial opportunity, not a drag on the bottom line. Consider this recent post by Ryan Schuchard on Greenbiz.com

"Companies that generate and rely on low-carbon energy are set to prosper, as are those that can exploit technological breakthroughs in resource efficiency and materials. Those firms generating new forms of energy -- in particular, renewables -- will participate in a massively growing market. Companies in industries that address adaptation problems, such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, stand to gain. In the end, as the world’s climate policies are developed and strengthened, there will be important roles for companies from almost every industry." 

I couldn't agree more. Not only will an entire new market be created in which international carbon credits will be traded, but carbon brokerage firms, carbon accounters, carbon assessors, carbon auditors, carbon day traders, and a thousand other carbon-related jobs stand to be created in the next decade.

I encourage energypreneurs to think creatively about solutions to the dilemmas facing corporations around their carbon obligations in the coming months and share ideas here as authors on the Energyprenuers blog.