Latest blog post from Melissa Fox, candidate for Assembly 70th District (Irvine, Tustin, Newport Beach, Laguna Woods)
Renewable Energy Technology – Made in China California
For the first time, China has overtaken the United States as the world leader in the multi-billion dollar competition for renewable energy investments.
According to a report released this week by the accounting firm Ernst & Young, “China has all the benefits of capital, government will, and it’s a massive market. We would expect to see China retaining a dominant position.”
Not only is this bad news for the United States, it is especially bad news for California, which is China’s primary competitor for renewable energy investment dollars. It is also bad news for our local economy, since many of the American companies creating renewable energy technology are located right here, in our 70th Assembly District.
I don’t believe that we should concede to China the billions of dollars and thousands of jobs that renewable energy investment brings, and we don’t have to accept “Made in China” for our renewable energy technology.
In fact, we can’t afford to let China win this competition.
But to make sure that those billions of investment dollars and thousands of jobs go to California instead of China, we need to do two things:
First, we need to reject Prop 23. The big oil companies’ deceptive initiative to kill California’s clean energy and air pollution control standards would cost California more than $80 billion and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
As the non-partisan, independent California Legislative Analyst’s Office explained, the suspension of our new clean air standards would “delay investments in energy technologies reaping longer run savings, or dampen additional investments in clean energy technologies or in so called ‘green jobs’ by private firms, thereby resulting in less economic activity than would otherwise be the case.”
It’s no wonder that more than 89 percent of the money for Prop 23 has come from out-of-state big oil interests: Prop 23 is bad for Californians.
Second, we need to require “Made in the USA” for any energy technology, and for buses and trains, that receive tax subsidies or any other financial incentive from the state’s taxpayers. Californians should not subsidize investment, production, and jobs in China or in any foreign country.
The formula is simple:
Renewable Energy Technology + Made in California = Investment $$ and Jobs.
That’s what I support and will fight for when I represent the 70th Assembly District.
Melissa
September 16, 2010
Except for a couple hundred years (a blink in its long,long history) China has been THE dominant economic and technological power in its sphere of influence. They know their place in history well and they are back, now on a global scale. With a tradition of patient and clever politics they are playing the U.S. government like a fish on a line … give a little slack, then pull it back tight.
Speaking about renewable energy, each wind turbine requires pounds of the rare earth metal neodymium for the generator magnets. The U.S. has the world’s second largest reserves of rare earth metal deposits, but every U.S. rare earth metal mine was shut down years ago having been undercut in prices from Chinese mines. High capacity lithium batteries, advanced electronics and optics, all require rare earth metals and every kilogram we use of this in manufacturing must be purchased from China. There will be no economic recovery for the US with this kind of hand on our throat. A story on this can be read in Chemical & Engineering News of 3 weeks ago, the main publication of the American Chemical Society, link below:
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/88/8835aboutcover.html