Climate change may be ‘polarizing’; energy efficiency shouldn’t be

With so many mixed messages and competing narratives on climate change, no wonder why so many Americans are confused.  Is it real?  If so, is it really our greatest threat? 

Forgive the pun, but it’s one of the most ‘polarizing’ issues in our country today.  For instance, the two leading national figures on climate change, President Barack Obama, and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, might as well be talking about two different planets.

{mosads}Obama boldly claimed during this year’s State of the Union that “no challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.”  Meanwhile, Inhofe and his family famously mocked former Vice President Al Gore by building an igloo during Washington’s Snowmageddon of 2010.

The Senate even took up a vote this month if climate change was real, a natural lead up to votes on approving the Keystone XL Pipeline.  To the surprise of some, Inhofe voted “yes,” cleverly noting the climate is always changing.

Apart from our U.S. elected leaders, let’s not forget the special interests which muddy the waters.  Like Vladimir Putin, one of America’s staunchest adversaries.  Last year, then NATO Secretary General and former Danish premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen bluntly stated that Putin is funding anti-fracking groups. 

And recent U.S. media reports have linked Russia to Washington lobbying efforts designed to stop fracking and block Keystone XL for good measure.  

And Putin’s goals?  Hurt American and European industry, keep energy prices high, and drive the market to “buy Russian.” 

Yet apart from oil-powered dictators in Russia, the Middle East, Venezuela and Ecuador, nearly everyone on the planet benefits from promoting energy efficiency.  It’s a win/win — something that die-hard progressives and staunch conservatives ought to agree on.

Whether one wants to combat climate change, wants to save money, or wants to reduce worldwide influence of oil-rich, and often aggressive autocrats, better energy efficiency is a no brainer. 

Even diametrically opposed voting blocs like the Tea Party and true environmentalists can find common ground here.  Saving government dollars and adopting green-friendly policies at the same time. 

Enter the American Embassy in Helsinki and Finnish Embassy in Washington.   

With the Embassy of Finland’s LEED Platinum Certification last month, it joins its Helsinki counterpart as one of only two embassies globally to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council at the highest rating on its scale of green-friendly buildings.

Developed in 2000, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a worldwide certification program that fosters eco-friendly construction and efficient energy policies.

They say necessity is the mother of all invention. In Finland’s case, like most Russian neighbors, it relies on Moscow for energy — plus it’s famously cold.  Thus Finns have wisely adapted to be a world leader in energy efficiency.   While working to reduce Moscow’s influence in their daily lives, they save money too.

Built in 1994, the embassy which sits across from the U.S. Naval Observatory and Vice President’s Residence, was designed as environmentally-friendly, mostly encased in glass to maximize the amount of sunlight.  Yet the Finns didn’t stop there, and since the mid-2000s, they’ve reduced electricity consumption by half and gas by 65 percent.  On-site composting, high efficiency water faucets, max recycling, no plastic cups, and green-friendly purchases have recouped initial investment after just one year.  They’ve even bought bikes for staff, and encourage walking to work.  Thus they literally talk the talk, and walk the walk.

Though it’s not just the Finns and American diplomats in Helsinki who are leading the way in energy efficiency. 

After a massive tsunami wiped out the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, Japan found itself struggling to satisfy energy demands.  One solution?  Lessen the demand through more efficient, smarter energy policies.  Japan’s Parliament renewed the push for a relaxed summer dress code first introduced by the Energy Ministry in 2005, setting the air conditioning in public spaces to 28C, or 82F.

I’ve been advocating similar energy efficient policies in Washington ever since retiring from the Pentagon.  As a former career Navy officer who spent summers dressed in Summer Whites and winters in Winter Blue and didn’t even wear suits during 8 collective years in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Okinawa, I still have a hard time adjusting to suits and ties during 90F and high humidity of Washington summers.  Does anyone really ever adjust?

On ABC Washington’s “Capital Insider” each summer since 2011, anchor Morris Jones and I discuss the “Summer Cool Biz” concept, how more sensible dress codes for the season can save billions in cooling costs, while protecting the environment.  

Promoting energy efficiency is a win/win, no matter how we slice it.  It’s something everybody ought to agree on.  Well, o.k., maybe not Vladimir Putin.

Gordon is a retired Navy Commander and former Pentagon spokesman who served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2005-2009. He is a senior adviser to several think tanks based in Washington, DC.