Green things happen when we all work together

While the mayors meeting in Seattle this week look for ways for our nation's cities to be friendlier to our environment, it is clear that fighting climate change is not solely the province of government.

It is still early in our efforts to revolutionize our approach to the environment, but we have already learned that the best results stem from collaborative governance or a boundary-spanning approach to public-policymaking.

This means giving the private sector incentives so it can drive market-based solutions forward; it means engaging university leadership and allowing our objective research, cutting-edge technology innovation and problem-solving abilities to make a difference; and, it means engaging in a transparent and broad-based process that encourages sharing and candor among all parties.

To stem our seemingly insatiable appetite for fossil-fuel hydrocarbons, for example, we must unleash the power of free markets. The biggest challenges we face in the energy marketplace today are price distortions. Whether through subsidies, regulations, incentives or misguided political pressures and responses, energy-market pricing does not accurately reflect supply and demand. And, energy prices do not indicate current value, let alone future value. This is not helping us curb energy use and clean up the environment. To do that, we need to find effective ways to increase energy efficiency and innovation. This means letting energy prices seek their natural levels.

A recent McKinsey study estimates that slashing global fuel subsidies by 80 percent — largely in the Middle East, Venezuela and Mexico — would reduce global demand for road-transportation fuel by 5 percent. That's the equivalent of shaving 2.5 million barrels per day off overall fuel demand.

I believe collaborative governance and boundary-spanning research and technology can help us face real energy pricing and its impact on the environment and the economy.

The Internet — with open-source software development, user-generated content and social-networking sites — has taught us that there is so much to learn from one another, that no one group has all the answers, and that the world can actually be a more constructive place if we just stay connected.

And, as in cyberspace, the most productive and beneficial exchanges of data and information take place when there is widespread cooperation and cross-pollination. Top-down hierarchies, bloody turf battles, restrictive jurisdictions, isolated silos and bricked-up barriers and borders get in the way of problem-solution thinking and block the flow of insight, innovation and progress.

The key players in the emerging "new energy economy" must grasp this concept, too.

It is clear that individual cities and states simply cannot achieve meaningful sustainability results alone; California could build a "hydrogen highway," but it would have to connect to Oregon's highway system, which would have to connect with Washington state's "biodiesel highway." And, the road will ultimately end up going nowhere if smart university research and private-sector initiatives aren't factored into the mix. So, without question, it will take a collaborative approach that extends far beyond local and federal government to make good green things happen.

This is definitely the time to join forces on the environment. The 1980s were about the individual (think Donald Trump); the 1990s were about the team (think Microsoft); and the first decade of the 21st century has been about networks (think Wikipedia). By necessity, the next decade of this still-young century will be about collaboration.

We must get started now.