2Sustain

This is the season for wish lists, so it seems like the perfect time to ask: What would you like to see President-elect Obama’s newly-appointed “green dream team” accomplish in 2009? Cap-and-trade legislation? Green business incentives? Water quality initiatives?

National Geographic asked a handful of environmental leaders that very question, and the result was a wish list that I think concisely sums up our nation’s most pressing concerns regarding climate change. According to the article, the environmental leaders polled would like to see the Obama administration enact:

• Climate legislation in the first 100 days. "We can [combine] needs for economic stimulus with needs for renewable energy," says Bill Chameides, dean of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment.

• Cap-and-trade legislation. "A good climate bill can reduce emissions but can also stimulate jobs and get money moving into the economy again," says Jim DiPeso, policy director of Republicans for Environmental Protection.

•  A framework for companies to benefit from efficiencies and CO2 emissions reductions. "The way we produce energy, food, and manufactured goods requires more water, energy, and [natural resource] inputs than we can sustain over the long haul," says Carter Roberts, president of the conservation group WWF in the United States. "Businesses that figure out how to make do with fewer inputs will win over the long haul, and we should rebuild our economy around those businesses."

• Adequate funding to update a 20-year-old assessment of our nation’s water resources. "We can't measure the affects [of water and climate changes] on communities if we can't collect the data," says Jane Rowan, president of the American Water Resources Association.

• “Everything that Al Gore stands for.” This from Richard Goldman, president of the Board of Directors for the Goldman Environmental Prize. Goldman would like to see 100% clean electricity in the U.S. by 2018. He also supports effort to alleviate poverty worldwide.

• New investments in renewable energy and public transit. "President Obama is expected to make a big push for new energy investments via both and economic stimulus and a stand-alone bill," says Sujatha Jahagirdar, program director of Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs).

• Policies that put a monetary value on resource protection and pollution reduction. According to Jimmy Daukas, managing director of agriculture and the environment for the American Farmland Trust (AFT), one example would be a type of cap-and-trade system for nitrogen and phosphorus run-off from fertilizers and manure.

That’s an impressive list, isn’t it? And, there’s no doubt that Obama’s green dream team is facing very high expectations –as well they should be. I know I’ve said this before, but the simple truth is that we as a nation are never going to make progress on climate change without getting serious. That means aggressive goal-setting, massive investment, shared sacrifice and a multi-generational commitment. It means moving bullet points like these off everyone’s wish lists and into action. In short, there is no time to waste, and I’m hoping that we see movement on several, if not all, of these fronts over the next year.