Rarely does one city's mayor make national news
on two seemingly unrelated stories within a few
days. Last week's decisions by Michael
Bloomberg to endorse President Obama and cancel
the New York City Marathon represented just
such an occasion. Each story reflects
elements of the energy-related political
challenges and opportunities that the United
States faces today as it adjusts to a rapidly
changing world.
Upon closer
examination, the two developments are more
connected than might otherwise seem immediately
apparent. The environmentally-focused
sentiment of his endorsement has the potential
to offer greater hope for the future while the
political battles he faced surrounding the
Marathon demonstrates some of the governance
challenges associated with achieving that very
vision. Despite the significant political
uncertainties that lie ahead in the coming
days, these developments last week provide
valuable insights into the state of today's
political landscape.
A
Pathway to Environmental
ProgressLike the N.Y. Yankees
pitcher Carsten Charles "CC" Sabathia, Mayor
Bloomberg threw a curve ball at the
Presidential Election on Thursday with his
endorsement
of President Obama. Environmental issues
stood as the principal foundation of the short
2-page article that outlined his
reasoning. Although the brief endorsement
has been criticized in some quarters for its
lack of specificity, it is worthwhile taking
this opportunity to dig a bit deeper into some
of the more specific ideas that Bloomberg has
lately had in mind for achieving continued
improvements to the nation's environmental
policies.
As Mayor Bloomberg
announced
this summer, his Bloomberg Philanthropies
initiated a partnership with the natural gas
pioneer George Mitchell to, "Support
organizations that seek to work with states and
industries to develop common-sense regulations
that will protect the environment — and ensure
that the industry can thrive." The
balanced ways in which they jointly plan to
achieve these objectives focus on natural gas
hydraulic fracturing. As Bloomberg and
Mitchell noted in their August
OpEd:
"…Fracking
reduces U.S. dependence on coal, which is one
of the best things we can do to improve air
quality and fight climate change. Modern
gas-fired power plants produce effectively no
sulfur dioxide or fine particulates and no
mercury or toxic ash pollution. They use less
water and generate about half the carbon
dioxide pollution of coal. The more natural gas
we produce, the more quickly we will be able to
close dirty-burning coal
plants."
The vast
impact which such fundamental changes may have
on the environment is widely expected to
outweigh the near-term potential of wind, solar
and biomass technologies. In parallel,
the leadership initiatives which
T.
Boone Pickens has been leading on the
demand side of the natural gas equation with
his natural gas transportation initiatives have
provided transformational leadership which
builds upon these same trends.
The
respective technologies of natural gas and
alternative energy have the potential to feed
off each other's strengths and corresponding
contributions. Following Bloomberg's
position as an independent,
Tom
Friedman has also recently pointed out
that, "The only way our country can progress is
with some grand bargains forged at the
center." One of the three pillars that
Friedman similarly describes in spelling out
his strategy for achieving this goal is, "A
deal that opens the way to exploit our newfound
bounty of natural gas, but with a plan that is
environmentally sound and doesn't divert us
from our long-term goal of a clean-energy
economy that mitigates climate change."
But sometimes finding that sensible center path
can prove challenging as Mayor Bloomberg found
in other quarters last
week.
Renewable Energy: A
People's Marathon Returns to Its
Entrepreneurial Roots In a bike
ride through lower Manhattan on Saturday, the
miraculous recovery that had occurred within
just a matter of days seemed
extraordinary. While many unrecognizable
street corners near the Hudson River and East
River had looked like movie scenes on all of
the major television networks just a few days
earlier, they appeared almost completely back
to normal by Saturday evening. The work
crews from the Army Core of Engineers,
representatives of other government agencies
and countless private contractors and
volunteers from around the country continued to
work around the clock to fix the problems
created by Hurricane Sandy. Their
continued successes represent a reminder of why
this city has long stood as a tremendous source
of optimism for countless
individuals.
But the successes of
these citizens stand in sharp contrast to the
experience of runners from around the world
that were denied the opportunity to compete in
an event that many had spent much of this year
preparing for and at significant personal
expense. At a restaurant in New
York Saturday evening, a large group of
marathoners from South America expressed
patience and understanding for Mayor
Bloomberg's decision. After their 10+
hour flight to the recently reopened JFK
airport, their only complaint was the reversal
of his decision at the 11th hour. The
Mayor's change of heart was all but forced by
the unforgiving chorus of critics that
responded to his earlier decision to go forward
with the Marathon. Following the more
entrepreneurial
history
of the race, this group of runners and
countless others were seen in Central Park and
throughout the city on Sunday running an
equivalent makeshift course on their own.
The politically-forced obstacles
that a myriad of international and domestic
marathoners faced last week are reminiscent of
statements that have frequently been heard in
China and other parts of the world in recent
years. Many Chinese energy investors
often compare investment roadblocks in the
United States with those in Canada, which
otherwise typically offer significant
similarities in terms of asset profiles, the
rule of law and other governance structures
that are widely consistent between the two
countries. Ironically, they often
describe the difference between the two states
as relating to a higher level of "political
risk" south of the border in the U.S. - a term
that has more traditionally been associated
with countries in the developing markets.
These frequent preferences offer valuable
insights into the constraints brought by voices
on the political extremes within American
society. As Mayor Bloomberg had
accurately noted in his earlier statements
regarding the Marathon, the estimated hundreds
of millions of dollars in tax revenue may
indirectly hit those impacted by Hurricane
Sandy.
Perhaps the most
inspirational characters in last week's true
story were the individuals that completed the
revised
version of the race on Sunday and still
contributed to the Hurricane Sandy relief
efforts, either through donations or good works
following the race. In avoiding the
political extremes that had created obstacles
on their path, the middle ground that they
successfully represent can offer a valuable
political model for the future of the United
States and the world. Although not always
the case, this time the sensible center emerged
victorious in Central Park.
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