Editor’s note: This commentary is by Zack Pensak, of Burlington, who is a senior at the University of Vermont.
[T]he recent events at Standing Rock have been a splash of cold water to the face for a country that has long ignored a pressing environmental dilemma. It has brought to light that for many marginalized communities like the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the repercussions from our modern American economy built around a non-renewable fossil fuel industry truly hit home.
As these protesters experienced firsthand, this industry is causing irreparable environmental damage, imposing serious costs on low income and powerless communities, and hold immense political power from the consistent reception of major subsidies.
Although the “water protectors” in North Dakota have achieved their goal of prompting a new assessment of the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline route, there is still legitimate concern of the damage that can be caused by this project. As is the case for the route of any crude oil pipelines, spills, leaks and ecosystem disruption are all still entirely plausible.
In order to combat these extremely worrisome realities, we need to shift towards running our nation on a green, renewable energy sector. This requires progressive-thinking political leadership that could help lead us forward, ideally into the privatization of renewable energy through economic methods such as accelerated depreciation.
Accelerated depreciation method is based on assets losing value to their owner company over time. Because of the decreasing value, companies are able to get the greatest tax deductions from the government in the earliest years of the life of the assets.
It is common sense that one’s use of the sun or wind does not prevent another from using that same resource, so sharing technologies for renewable energy power works to benefit everyone in the market.
In terms of renewable energy projects, these time-sensitively decreasing incentives will prompt private firms to create technologic breakthroughs and advances as quickly and frequently as possible so that they can maximize the amount of profit they receive from the renewable energy assets.
Investors know that when the government implements accelerated depreciation methods they will be receiving an increased rate of return on their investments. A 2013 study on the promotion of wind turbines in the country of Jordan found conclusively that when companies are expected to receive an immediate return on their investments, the current value of wind energy rises.
The faster companies create technologic developments, the higher the chance of information flowing in a cooperative market between investors. It is common sense that one’s use of the sun or wind does not prevent another from using that same resource, so sharing technologies for renewable energy power works to benefit everyone in the market.
The information flow is key in not only advancing renewable energy efforts, but also fighting the increasingly severe climate change ramifications of operating with a non-renewable economy.
The latest report by the National Weather Service in 2015 ranked North Dakota as the windiest state in the country, with all nine other states in the top 10 also located in the Great Plains region. Promoting renewable energy projects such as large-scale infrastructure for wind farms would massively financially and occupationally benefit this region, helping to prevent issues such as Standing Rock from existing in the future.
A concern that goes along with the privatization of renewable energy, like with the privatization of any innovative technology, is the worry of involved private firms patenting technology, thus monopolizing the market. Other emerging technologies such as cellphones or laptops are often kept under somewhat secret circumstances in order for companies to gain a competitive edge on fellow players in the market.
That being said, open source technology has been proven effective in examples such as Linux software, which allows users to continually create updated features and functions for a massive software database. Another example is Tesla Motors, which in June 2014 announced that it would not file any patent lawsuits against individuals who look to use Tesla’s technology. In fact, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk went as far as encouraging firms use his technology to join him in the movement of advancing the development for electric car use.
Communal progress in terms of climate change efforts has already been shown in recent weeks, with the Science Based Targets initiative announcing that 200 major global companies have committed to setting ambitious emission reduction targets mirroring those of the Paris Climate Agreements. The businesses that commit will have two years to lay out extensive carbon-reduction strategies, which are then closely reviewed by the initiative’s team of experts, and receive approval only if their planning meets strict criteria. These 200 businesses represent an estimated USA $4.8 trillion in market value.
The incredible economic and political power of these 200 businesses represents the ammunition of the private firms that will help facilitate the necessary shift to renewable energy. We cannot allow the exploitation of fossil fuel resources or of marginalized communities to continue. Hopefully, in the future, disturbing events like those that have been taking place at Standing Rock can be avoided with government encouragement of a renewable energy market, implementation of accelerated depreciation practices, and cooperation between investors.
