Going Green to Make Green; Jim DiPeso

Going Green to Make Green

by REP Policy Director Jim DiPeso
Speech given to North King County Green Business Conference
Shoreline, Washington, June 10, 2008

Good morning. My name is Jim DiPeso, and I’m the policy director of Republicans for Environmental Protection.

I want to welcome all of you to the first North King County Green Business Conference, organized by the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with Shoreline Community College and the city of Shoreline. This is the kickoff event of the chamber’s Green Business Program.

And, we thank all of you for coming out to this great campus. We especially thank the business people who are giving up time away from their businesses to learn how going green can yield more green.

Now, here is what we hope to accomplish today. We’re going to walk a trail that starts with policy. All the politicians in the room love to talk policy, but for business people trying to make a living, it seems far removed from everyday concerns.

But we’re going to show you how the trail that starts with policy can lead to profits – with a critically important stop at a way station called education. From policy to education to business to profits. That’s our mission today, and the great speakers we have lined up will be your trail guides.

Let me try to frame the conference with two quotes, one historical and one contemporary, one that speaks to policy and one that speaks to business.

Nearly a century ago, Theodore Roosevelt said: "There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country."

What did he mean by that? He meant that good stewardship of our environment is not just something that is nice to do, but something essential for securing a prosperous future for our country. From his insight long ago, we now have in place policies to protect the environment. And with new challenges, such as climate change, more policies are coming.

But if you’re in business, what does this mean for you? Let’s hear a second quote. How many of you here have heard of T. Boone Pickens? He’s a billionaire Texas oilman straight out of central casting. T. Boone Pickens is all business and wouldn’t seem to have an environmental bone in his body.

But Boone Pickens plans to build the world’s largest wind energy plant, big enough to supply 50 cities the size of Shoreline with the cleanest energy you can find.

And why is he doing that? He says: "Money! First thing, it's about money. Of course, I'm also a good environmentalist. I can pass the saliva test. But I'm not going to go do a 4,000-megawatt wind farm for the environment first and money second."

Sound crass? Who cares? I hope he builds that wind farm and makes another billion dollars. Pickens can do what he’s doing because there is a policy in place to stimulate the growth of clean energy. By going green, he can make green.

None of us is a big operator like Boone Pickens. But the path he’s walking – from policy to profits – is one that every businessperson in Shoreline can walk, whether you’re big or small. By going green, you can make green, and today we’ll show you how.