R/E in the 2008 US Elections

Well, we finally saw the last debate of this presidential race tonight. To be perfectly frank, I wasn't all that impressed with the performance of either candidate; McCain came off as shrill, trying desperately to throw some FUD into peoples' perceptions of Obama, while Obama was almost entirely reactive through the course of the debate, spending most of his breath responding to McCain's attacks rather than speaking about his own policies. CNN's results suggest that Obama polled substantially better among their focus group, but that doesn't necessarily matter a hill of beans.

To talk about the main issue of this blog, though, I think it's very interesting this time around to hear both candidates trotting out their support for renewable energy; after the antipathy toward R/E shown by the Bush administration, it's a bit startling and a phenomenal change of pace to hear any discussion of renewable energy from the GOP candidate.

Of course, talking about renewable energy and following through on that talk are two very different things. Given McCain's history with renewable energy to this point- 24% lifetime and 0% 2007 score according to the League of Conservation Voters- my faith in his newfound enthusiasm for renewable energy fails to abound. Obama's record- 86% lifetime, 67% 2007- is substantially more heartening.

Why does any of this matter? Well, beyond the obvious subjective importance of the topic to a professional in the R/E industry, I genuinely believe that the development of renewable energy and other sustainable technologies presents an incredible opportunity for the US in the coming decades. Not only can this sort of development serve to alleviate the coming growing pains associated with moving from an unsustainable, unstable energy-dependent condition to a lifestyle that is within our means, but it provides an incredibly promising opportunity for the export of new sustainable energy technologies to the developing world. It's no secret that the US could badly use a new export commodity, and, from an ethical and environmental standpoint, this allows other countries to avoid the growth pains associated with the transition we are facing now.

Whether or not that happens, however- whether the US will actually sieze this opportunity and becomes a global leader in sustainable technology- is anyone's guess. As a nation we haven't been particular exemplars of forward thinking in the last four decades, but the opportunity is there.

There are worse things to predicate a future on than a set of technologies that is, by its very nature, sustainable...