Author and entrepreneur Steve Melink joins Earth911 to talk about making the conservative case for clean energy. His new book, Fusion Capitalism, is a call for conservatives to recognize the dangerous reality of climate change and invest in a rapid transition to renewable energy. His company, Melink Corp., pioneered energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for commercial buildings in Ohio — it also built the first LEED Gold-certified building in the state. “Shame on us” for denying as a party the reality of climate change. While younger Republicans care about the environment in numbers as great as their Democratic peers, they have not taken control of their party. He believes that’s the next evolution of a conservatism that preserves the planet and not just traditional values.
Melink argues that business and free choices by consumers based on accurate information can accelerate the move off fossil fuels and to wind, solar, and geothermal alternatives. He calls the solar-powered home a “small power company” that grants the homeowner independence from the fossil fuels industry. Adding that oil companies continue to receive unjustifiable subsidies, he also argues that the cost of climate change is being unfairly passed along to society. Capitalism is the “best system in the world to get out out of this problem,” Melink argues, and the U.S. is now engaged in a race to the circular economy that, if it loses, will cost its global economic leadership. “We’ve got to get our mojo back,” Melink says.
This interview was recorded just before the 2020 Presidential election. Melink’s call for environmental responsibility by conservatives may be perfectly timed to help bring the center-right together with the center-left community around a shared goal of creating a green economy.
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