It is time that we learn to expect and mitigate the negative results of technology. It is time to pay attention to the impact of technology on the public interest.   

In order to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, we need to work together with businesses and communities to help develop the capacity to reduce emissions.

Many economists and policy experts believe carbon pricing is the most effective way to deal with global warming. But others argue that carbon pricing is not a silver bullet for dealing with climate change. Here’s why.

No one should underestimate the scale of the challenge that confronts humanity. It will require new technologies and changes in infrastructure, organizational capacity, economic incentives and public policy.

What we are missing here in the United States is the environmental leadership that we had during the 1970s and 1980s when we showed the world how to grow an economy while building our knowledge of ecosystems and reducing the degree of damage we were inflicting on the natural world. Since 1990, technology has advanced and threats to ecosystems come from new sources.

The impact of new technologies on jobs is unavoidable, and not all of the news is bad. Many old jobs are destroyed but many new jobs are created. The problem is that with weak unions, global competition and inadequate wage regulation, some of the new jobs are lower paid than the old jobs.

In the United States, our political process sends us strong signals about what problems and proposals can achieve agenda status. Increased federal support for science and technology will not be easy, but unlike a carbon tax, it is capable of drawing bipartisan support.