Rome Wasn't Built in a Day Either

Joe Romm takes a NYT reporter and, by extension, much of the mainstream media to task over its slipshod reporting of energy and economics issues. I was struck by his conclusion:

The ungreen jobs are doomed to disappear because they are unsustainable and are destroying a livable climate for our children and the next 50 generations. So the issue isn’t whether green jobs will be the biggest single source of new jobs in the coming decades. That is a done deal. The issue is whether the green jobs will be created in this country or in places like Europe and Japan and China where economists and economics reporters don’t waste a lot of time trying to convince the public they are a bad investment.

This is a key point to remember as our politicians wrangle over yet another stimulus package. Decrying a stimulus proposal solely because it creates too few immediate jobs, or their supposedly excessive cost, or the slowness of their pace of creation misses the larger point. Our economy doesn't just need a quick boost, although it needs that too. What's needed is sustained and purposeful investment to erect a new energy foundation for our 21st Century economy.