Robert Kennedy Jr: Green Visionary, Making the Case for Renewable Energy

Robert Kennedy Jr. won’t rest until his vision for a green economy is heard. He’s been visiting college campuses across the country speaking about the environment, energy, and the economy.

“Sound economic and environmental policies are intrinsically tied, and energy providers should reward customers for conserving power rather than consuming it,” Kennedy recently told a college audience in Pennsylvania.

His name recognition surely helps but this man is more than just a Kennedy; he’s an environmental lawyer, a bestselling author, and serves as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper. Additionally, Kennedy is th President of Waterkeeper Alliance, a partner in Silicon Valley’s VantagePoint Ventures, and a professor at Pace University’s School of Law’s Environmental Litigation Clinic.

 "Good economic policy is identical to good environmental policy," Kennedy told his audience in Pennsylvania. "A true free market promotes efficiency and the elimination of waste. We need to protect our natural resources."

Kennedy built his reputation as a stalwart defender of the environment through a series of successful court cases as well as his work as an environmental activist.

His Pennsylvania talk was titled "Globalization and the Green Economy: A New Vision for American Leadership and Strength."

To that end, Kennedy said, “The nation needs to end its dependency on oil, coal and nuclear power and instead invest in solar and wind power.  To do this, state and federal leaders must provide incentives to those who opt for renewable energy and end subsidies for companies that pollute air and water.”

Kennedy said electric companies should make homeowners "energy entrepreneurs" and pay them for all of the solar-powered electricity they produce, not just for a fraction of it.

Not afraid to take on his opponents head-on, Kennedy debated coal executive Don Blankenship of Massey Energy in West Virginia in January. The two-hour forum included Kennedy assailing the coal industry’s highly mechanized surface-mining techniques while Blankenship took a different approach.

“Environmental concerns over the coal business are unfounded and an assault on American energy security and hardworking families who depend on coal for a living,” Blankenship said.

Kennedy gave an impassioned response.

“These companies are liquidating the state for cash,” he said. “The coal industry’s concerns about the survival of mining communities are specious. Some 50 years ago, over 120,000 coal industry workers pulled the resource from underground mines in West Virginia, Today, companies like Massey Energy rely on contentious techniques like mountaintop removal, in which explosives and vast machinery are used to lop off hilltops to expose coal seams for easy extraction.”

To listen to the debate go here.

Image courtesy of JSmith