MANUFACTURE
An American Reconstruction Department
By Yasha Husain
December 29, 2012
A logical next step for the Obama Administration and its efforts to triumph against the challenges of the 21st century, is, strategically speaking, the creation of an American Reconstruction Department, a Franklin Roosevelt-type initiative.
All wings of the proposed Reconstruction effort, listed below, would be carried out concurrently by diverse teams of experts, the heads of which meet bi-monthly. Expenditures will come chiefly from already distributed, or budgeted, dollars, in exception of R&D and special projects, e.g. pilot projects, including ones that meet the needs of poor, underserved or polluted communities.
For each wing of the department, there will be three "well-schooled" and "well-rounded" experts with a specialty in their field area, be it, for clean energy, wind, solar or geothermal. Each will be a holistic, which also implies, global, thinker, in their own right, but above them will still be a world-class expert, who is firstly a holistic and global thinker, whose job it is to arrive at the most common sense energy solutions for localities, regions and the nation, with the rest of his or her team, or panel, and the nation.
The panel of the Clean Energy wing would,
for example, work in coordination with the Department of Energy. It would have a specially appointed person to work with think tanks, and the media, to get the word out of the progress of the Department. The panel member's closest relationships would be to Congress, as selected Congress members would be asked to help write legislation, and all of Congress would act as constant liaison between the nation's people and the Reconstruction Department.
The head of the Reconstruction Department may be a residing Senator or Congressperson.
In light of climate change and the international economy, domestic and world affairs would largely be tackled with the follow-through of an American Reconstruction Department.
The idea for the Department comes not only from Roosevelt's defeat of the Great Depression, but from Japan, which in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and in response to its environmental demands, instituted a nationwide, regional and community-based reconstruction effort, according to Habitat for Humanity, which ran a special ad about Japan in Bloomberg Businessweek (Oct. 22-28, 2012).
It's true that after the 2008 financial crisis has wound down, Obama's in earnest planning stage is finally upon us. No better time, then, to start the ambitious goal setting, based on a long range vision, with a centralized department, with outreach capacity to communities across the nation, and world.
The logical next step in the Obama Administration's efforts to promote change is an American Reconstruction Department, that could be replicated internationally, its various wings:
1. Celebrating the Family and Perfect Love
2. Emergent Education, Adapting to 21st Century Needs, Including Job Creation
3. The Role of Faith in Culture
4. Exchanging Nonviolence
5. Guideposts: Sharing the Wisdom of All Time
6. Harnessing the Creative Potential Utilizing “Perfect Knowledge” (Self-realization)
7. On the Nature of Competition: Holistic Competition
8. On the Role of Science: Holistic Science
9. Holistic Farming
10. Helping Hands for the Poor
11. Developing Cognitive and Behavioral Health Advancements, Thinking Out-of-the-Box
12. Integrative, Holistic Medicine
13. Sound Design Materials
14. Graduated Engineering
15. Architecture and Design
16. Rail and Vehicular Design and Transfer
17. Clean Energy Projects
18. Remediation
19. Environmental Monitoring
20. Technology Transfer
21. Realigning Military and Intelligence to Carry Out More Diplomatic Missions
22. Mixing of Economies
23. Cross Cultural Exchange for the Continuation of Cultural Heritage
24. Global Participation
25. Development
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Blog: Decision '09, The Science Debates
Debate #2: Green Energy in the American Southeast (5/14/09)
Moderator Question:
It's been said that in the southeastern portion of the United States there's not a lot of solar or wind resources.
But could the solar and wind potential there in fact be utilized to create hybrid energy systems reliant on a host of renewables including offshore wind, concentrated solar, and the energy carrier hydrogen, when it's produced from the sun or wind via electrolysis?
According to the latest science, what are some of the more promising green energy options for the American Southeast?
Expert Commentary:
Below are a number of expert voices that weighed in for this debate. While the views expressed are divergent they also contain overlapping ideas about the future of southeast energy.