HYSTERIA IS OPPORTUNITY:

Douglas Embraces Eco-Business,Wireless (Mark Davis, 1/05/07, Valley News)

Vermont should build an ambitious communications network and create a large industry from companies dedicated to reducing pollution, Gov. Jim Douglas said during his inaugural address yesterday. [...]

Douglas said Vermont should turn the fight against global warming into an opportunity by making the state a hub for companies that sell solutions to environmental problems such as air pollution and wastewater management. [...]

Speaking of the global environment, the third-term governor said, “Our approach … focuses our industry on one of the greatest engineering challenges of this century: finding practical environmental solutions that balance growth and resources around the world.”

Douglas proposed building several new regional schools devoted to teaching science and math, to prepare students for careers in engineering and other high-tech jobs. The “Stafford Schools,” named for former Vermont Senator Robert Stafford, who died on Dec. 23, would not be located in new buildings but would co-locate in existing schools, akin to technical centers currently operating at many schools.

“Vermonters have always prized a quality education, but global competition demands an even higher level of aptitude from graduating students,” Douglas said. “We cannot simply put more money into the same system and expect better results.”

To help woo companies, Douglas said he would create an Environmental Engineering Advisory Council, whose expert members would be appointed by Douglas and legislators.

The governor does well to understand that global warming is a tool with which government can force technological innovation.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 5, 2007 10:43 AM