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Climate change: Every situation creates an opportunity
October 20th, 2009 by Mike Knutson
In honor of my good friend Joe Bartmann of the Sioux Falls Green Project visiting me in Howard (SD) yesterday, I wanted to share a post related to the green movement in rural places. Amazingly, an article titled “Climate Change and Rural Communities in the US: a Draft Briefing Paper” fell into my lap thanks to a tweet from the Rural Assistance Center. The subject and the fact that it was produced by one of my favorite rural organizations, the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI), make commenting on it almost mandatory.
Admittedly, I haven’t studied the nuances of climate change legislation before Congress as much as I should. In reading the document, I was alarmed to learn that the Secretary of Transportation had proposed a “vehicle miles traveled” (as opposed to a fuel tax) as a way to reduce pollution and increase revenue for our highways. Residents of rural states undoubtedly cringe at the negative impact such legislation would have on their pocketbooks. Luckily, the measure was quickly abandoned by the Obama administration, but it shows that we should be paying closer attention.
As I read through the descriptions of potential measures intended to help our environment, I can say that I support some of them, and oppose others. What was most interesting to me, however, was the last section titled “Opportunities for rural communities.”
It offered four potential areas of opportunity for rural communities to consider. An overview of these opportunities include:
- Renewable Energy Production
- Carbon Sequestration
- Green Jobs
- Opportunities for Rural-Urban Collaboration
In Miner County, SD, we were early adopters of three of the measures: renewable energy production, green jobs, and rural-urban collaboration. The forth(carbon sequestration) is one that I still don’t know much about, let alone understand how rural communities can take advantage of.
I’m not sure if the cap and trade legislation before Congress will pass or not. But this article has made me more aware of why I need to pay attention to the issue. Thanks RURPI.
Tags: climate change, green jobs, green movement, miner county sd, renewable energy
Posted in Economic Development, In the News, Rural | Comments (
1 )
October 21st, 2009 at 7:01 am
Well timed story, Mike. I did take the time to read through the paper from RUPRI, and saw the issue a bit differently because of it. While the impact of climate change on the environment is well known, I think the report does a nice job of highlighting some lesser known impacts on the rural economic environment. For instance, the report talks about how rural areas have a higher dependence on seasonal employment than their urban counterparts, and that the changing climate will reduce the job opportunities in some areas. As hard as we’ve tried to dissociate, as people we are connected to our earth. It’s time to take better care of it (and ourselves).