It’s time again for our 3 Questions series, where we ask industry experts about their organization’s environmental programs, opinions on environmental policy, and how they reduce their own environmental footprint.
This week, we spoke with Jamie Johnson, social entrepreneur at Verde Sustainable Solutions, to get his perspective on the environmental industry. Jamie has a background in environmental consulting, developing sustainability software for the iPad, and teaching. He’s run his own environmental technology company for two years, and before that worked in various capacities in the sustainability field. He holds an MS in Environmental Science Policy from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Biology from Bradley University.
Q: Do you believe policy will help drive the green economy, or do you think the government should leave it up to private businesses and market demand?
A: Both are essential to tackle the large environmental problems that we have before us. Government has a key role for certain policies, such as high-speed rail infrastructure and stability in energy markets. Ignoring the role that government plays in sustainability is not realistic, especially since the military is the largest consumer of renewable power in the world.
However, private business will also play key roles in the green economy. My company recently released the Verde iPad app, an inexpensive way for consumers to conduct an energy audit on the iPad. We need innovation like this from millions of companies to increase energy efficiency, renewable power options and transportation options. We cannot rely on government alone to be the source of innovation, but they must set policies to encourage it.
Q: Are we doing enough to encourage the use of renewable energy through subsidies and incentives? If not, what more can be done?
A: Government has done enough in the form of subsidies and incentives for renewable energy. What they have yet to do is increase the price on carbon to level the playing field between traditional and renewable energy.
Historically, the idea of a carbon tax has been unpopular in our country. However, with our increasing deficit problem, a carbon tax could bring in valuable revenue to our government and make renewable energy more competitive as opposed to the current tax incentives for alternative energy sources. I think that after the 2013 elections, we may see some resurgence of interest in a carbon tax and the long-term benefits it would provide for both our economy and environment.
Q: In your opinion, which industry sector has the greatest opportunity to impact the future of sustainable business?
A: While I am not personally involved in this sector, I think battery storage capabilities will have the greatest opportunity to impact sustainability. I find this exciting space, not only because of the transportation issue, but also for the impact it will have on smart grid independent energy sources.
Thanks to Jamie for participating in this week’s 3 Questions series. If you have any additional questions for him, feel free to comment below!
I agree with battery storage capabilities having the best impact. It would solve the problem of solar panels when there is minimal sunlight.
Posted by: solar panels | March 6, 2012 at 02:27 AM
Net zero buildings would define the solar energy sector. The market is slowly gaining on it.
Posted by: pv solar panels | March 22, 2012 at 09:31 PM
Thanks for your comments. If you have any suggestions on topics you would like to see discussed here, please feel free to let us know.
Sincerely,
The Enviance Team
Posted by: Enviance Team | March 26, 2012 at 02:04 PM
Great interview! I believe more and more people should be encouraged to use sustainable solutions. This way if distributed power goes down, not everyone will be out of power.
Posted by: Solar Panel Installation | April 21, 2012 at 10:23 PM
What are some renewable egnrey resources?I am in geography class right now and we have to research some renewable egnrey resources. Does anyone have any ones that are slightly more original than wind turbines. ALso how they work if you canthanksx
Posted by: Karla | April 24, 2012 at 10:55 AM
All courses and deerges dealing with renewable energy or green field without prerequisite deerges in Science or Engineering are bullbleep.Students need a background in Science or Engineering (preferably Engineering) before they can understand energy issues. Otherwise, graduates of these phony courses just become loud and ignorant shrieking nuisances.
Posted by: Apoorva | April 26, 2012 at 08:07 PM
Basically a big battery. Or a bunch of big bariettes. But almost no place actually relies 100% on only wind and solar, because the bariettes are expensive and not really green (full of toxins like lead and acid or whatever). So most places rely only partly on wind and solar, and use regular power company power when there is no wind at night.
Posted by: Jeff | June 3, 2012 at 03:03 AM
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Posted by: Joachim | June 3, 2012 at 12:17 PM