SPUTNIK MOMENT?... OUR “SUPERPOWER LABEL DEMANDS IT

It’s just over an hour before Obama’s second SOTU is scheduled to begin, and an excerpt of his speech is released.  The theme of the excerpt? “This is our generation’s Sputnik moment.” I couldn’t agree more.

The buildup to that line describes our commitment to not only developing the space technology that we were just beginning to advance, but our unified national effort to exceed basic human potential and take us all the way to the moon. NASA was created, our scientific knowledge expanded exponentially, and American ingenuity turned this unified national goal into success story with massive positive repercussions. Had we not only failed to win the space race , but failed to even invest brainpower, agreement of a worthy national goal, and huge sums of money, today’s world would be dramatically different. Had we failed to encourage, support and invest in scientific curiosity and exploration of our dreamable potential, we would be dramatically worse for such lack of national unified drive. The major surge in scientific knowledge, the emerging civilian goods derived from that knowledge, and the resulting economic boost bettered all our lives in ways we rarely acknowledge. From ball point pens, to the internet, in ways both little and huge, we all benefit daily from the innovations derived from our rising as a nation to meet the challenge of our “Sputnik moment”.

On an even larger scale, our national accomplishment helped in no small way to help secure our status as a “superpower” – a status that time puts to the smell test roughly every generation.  To meet the status of superpower requires more than a huge population. It requires more than one of the largest world economies. It requires leadership in the new horizons of each generation. The United States of America has held the status of superpower for the majority of its history. In recent times the test of that label has been met through leading the way to nuclear power, through winning the space race, and through developing the internet. These scientific arenas in which we have led the world over the last few generations all build upon one another. Each one requires not only maintaining our wealth of leading scientific knowledge, but expanding upon it.

But it requires more than just brilliant minds applying their greatness to the national good. It requires vision, perception, and foresight. National leadership must have the vision to see where socio-economic trends are leading the next huge scientific impact.

Today, that path is green energy solutions. Now matter how much credence you may give to the seriousness of man-made climate change, global economies are moving exponentially faster towards green energy. THIS is our current “Sputnik moment”. Unfortunately, we are failing in not only resolve to win this energy race, but even the national acknowledgement that green energy is undeniably the future of global politico-economic competition.

The Recovery and Reinvestment Act gave a large boost to the energy race compared to our past national commitment. However, the funds apportioned to this effort fell far short of an honest “moonshot” effort to win this global race. The effort was not even focued well enough to have reasonable success. Obama pproposed high speed national rail system. However, despite the large sum of billions applied to that goal, it was but a drop in the bucket require to accomplish it. And not even accomplish an equivalent of Japanese high speed rail. The massive amount of money was to create a high speed rail that would be the American turtle to the Japanese hare. US high speed rail is an admirable goal, but to pursue it given the cost and the benefit, it is a distraction that wildly drains intensely needed funds and focus from the global race for green energy leadership. Yes, there were funds within the Recovery Act for green energy companies, but it was insufficient, and it only covered newly formed companies, leaving those struggling to stay afloat despite the lack of proper national support to survive or die on their own. One such company just ended 800 American jobs in Massachusetts  as they packed up and moved the solar panel manufacturing plant to China. Massachusetts gave them 43 million dollars in help to build the company there. But that was roughly 10 percent of their investment costs. China has offered them two-thirds of their costs. Not to mention virtual guarantee of customers and continued subsidies.

This is one recent update in the energy race that so many Americans have yet to even realize that we are competing in. Yes. this is our “Sputnik moment”. So far we are failing it. Big time.

Seek out air cars, solar, bio-fuels, etc. etc. etc. There are so many areas to address….. but for now, President Obama has just entered the chamber. I’m not even proofing this essay so I can see how he addresses our current Sputnik moment.