Imagine you are the President of the United States. And you must rally the nation around investing hundreds of billions of federal dollars into creating a clean energy economy. Immediately. Tell me the story that will make it happen. 
We need a story. One that will inspire a nation. We’ve heard one before.
On May 25th, 1961, President Kennedy captivated the hearts, minds and aspirations of Americans to do something no human had ever done before.
His story put a man on the moon. And the American people funded it with the largest commitment of resources ($25 billion), ever made by any nation in peacetime.
But it wasn’t just any old story; it was masterful.
Kennedy articulated all the fundamentally important parts of an effective story which are:
The Goal: America will be the first nation to put a human on the moon.
The Message: “Our leadership in science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world’s leading space-faring nation.”- President John F. Kennedy
The Conflict: United States was losing the space exploration and domination race with the USSR and communism.
The Characters (the essential roles in a good tale):
Hero: The brave Americans that risked their lives to travel to the moon
Adversary: USSR and communism
Benefactor: NASA
Beneficiary: America and democracy
The Support (means and tools needed to reach goals): High moral, innovation, courage and daring.
With all the proper storytelling ingredients accounted for, Kennedy created the political will to shatter the impossible and leave an eternal footprint on the path of human progress.
We must now replicate that feat.
Today, Americans face a challenge of equal significance and urgency: to create a transformative clean energy economy. Energy experts estimate that it will require at least $300 billion in federal investment over the next ten years. I will not tell you the reasons why I think this transformation is necessary. I will leave that up to you to decide.
If you were elected President and needed to rally the American public around this national cause, what story would you weave to inspire and mobilize the nation?
Please post your story here and include all the important narrative ingredients outlined above.
Everyone: feel free to tell us your thoughts on any of the stories posted.
Remember, this “challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”
Push yourself. Give us a story that will captivate the nation and shatter the impossible.
One item that is fundamentally different both from the Moon Shot and WWII is that both did not involve a permanent shift in infrastructure. For eliminating carbon, 80% of the energy system would permanently affected. This is closer to the scale of the Industrial Revolution. Certainly a more powerful story would be needed to win a place in the public imagination.
R Margolis,
Great point. You are absolutely right.
We are working on this narrative now and would love you to flesh out this idea a little more–what story would you tell to capture the public’s imagination and make the case for a permanent infrastructure shift?
Molly -
I can think a little more on this and send in. Should I post it here or email it?
R Margolis (Robert)
Hi Robert,
It would be great if you posted it here! I’m really looking forward to it!
Molly
Molly -
Here are my further thoughts. Please let me know if you need any further elaboration or clarification.
Robert
1) There is a confluence of three events – The large rise of the developing world (e.g., China and India, though many other nations are expanding economically too), peak oil and gas are rather close at hand (even CERA estimates a plateau by 2030), and of course the evidence of CO2 and other gases affecting the climate and ocean chemistry.
2) Even if the carbon issue is lower in magnitude than the IPCC estimates, the combination of developing world growth and peak oil prior to mid-century will force a change in the energy infrastructure.
3) Most of the developments of new infrastructure took place over decades (e.g., railroads, telegraph systems, highways for cars, airports and air traffic system).
4) Two examples of rapid development of infrastructure were the Manhattan Project and the Internet. In both instances, there was strong government support and heavy involvement of younger leaders.
5) These rapid developments increased economic opportunities greater than initially thought when they were first introduced.
6) There are a myriad of low carbon technologies available to address the issues (e.g., China is a leader in wind, solar, and nuclear energy).
So the story could go like…
Our planet is seeing an historic shift. The global economic growth in previously developing nations coincides with the likely plateau in oil production and scientific consensus that the byproducts of fossil fuels are significantly affecting the world’s climate and ocean chemistry. A transition to low carbon energy is necessary to address these challenges while providing the necessary opportunities for everyone. Such transitions are difficult and filled with trepidation, but history has shown such transitions have also brought great opportunity and hope. Strong government and private sector cooperation can help create a world with abundant energy for the developing world while preventing the worst impacts of global climate change. A myriad of energy technologies (e.g., solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear, etc.) can be further developed to provide unparalleled economic opportunity and strong environmental protection. We can bring to fruition a world beyond fear and want where the only scarcity is the use of obsolete fuels.
Robert,
Thank you for your story! I think your emphasis on the historic shift we are experiencing is right on. I like that you painted this transition as one filled with opportunity, especially in terms of creating sustainable development, economic growth, and freedom from fear. Your mention of the role of strong government in many instances of rapid technological advancement is also a key point.
In your story, who do you imagine is the primary ‘hero’? Is it the American people, the clean energy tech innovators/industries, the federal government, or someone else?
The lynchpin for success is to simultaneously lift the public apathy (polls show ~40% of the public is seriously concerned over climate change) while eliminating fear or despair. Ideally the heroes would be an alliance of the low carbon tech folks (even the sequestration and nuclear folks too) with the political activists to win the public over. Government and Wall Street would quickly join in once the public imagination is captured.
I hope you’re right! That is the team we are banking on…capturing the public imagination and political will is a great challenge, especially if the vision is expensive. The heroes in the narrative that we communicate to the American public might need to be a more general story about the American spirit of innovation–so that we can weave a story that everyone can feel a part of.
Molly –
One other thought, the US Nuclear Navy was also built from nothing. In fact, if anyone has said at the end of WWII that Hyman Rickover would be the person to do it they would have been laughed out of the Navy. Often heroes and leaders emerge where least expected. That’s part of the story too.
Good luck to you and Breakthrough with the narrative.
Robert
Great point, Robert. Thanks for your insight.