Calling for a new National Energy Education Act
On July 31st 2008, Teryn Norris and Jesse Jenkins of the Breakthrough Institute proposed a National Energy Education Act in the San Francisco Chronicle and Baltimore Sun (PDF). For more information, see the Breakthrough Institute's 2-page policy concept proposal. Breakthrough Generation Fellow Genevieve Bennett weighs in here:
By Genevieve Bennett, Breakthrough Generation Fellow
A new National Energy Education Act (NEEA) would be a comprehensive policy package directing government investment toward training a new generation of Americans in strategic energy-related fields, including engineering, technology, science, mathematics, business, and policy, and supporting their innovative work as they move through the education system and into a career.
A NEEA would provide financial aid to students and funding to universities and vocational/technical schools for improving research, education and workforce training in energy-related fields. It would also expand funding for research, development, and demonstration of new clean energy technologies at universities, and support technical and vocational schools in developing and implementing programs to train a new energy workforce.
Why do we need new comprehensive federal legislation that invests in education, workforce training, and RD&D in strategic energy-related fields?
We need NEEA because we need to invest now in research, development, and demonstration of new clean energy technologies that will enable the U.S. to overcome the energy crisis and develop clean and cheap new energy for all Americans. A serious and sustained investment in technological innovation must be the core of our national strategy in addressing the energy crisis. Supporting stronger linkages between national research facilities, institutes of higher education, and workforce development programs will foster collaboration between our nation's best minds and skilled workers.
We need NEEA because America is falling behind in its abilities to compete in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Our students need to do better than the middle of the pack in international comparisons of science and math performance, and we need to do a better job of retaining talent in energy-related fields.
We need NEEA to meet demand for a skilled, well-educated workforce. In 2006, renewable energy and energy efficiency technology industries generated 8.5 million new jobs - and a major barrier to the creation of more jobs is widely agreed to be a lack of workers trained in the necessary skills for a new energy economy.
The Breakthrough Institute has recently outlined some recommendations for a new national energy education policy. We anticipate broad bipartisan support for legislation investing in continued competitiveness and innovation. The America COMPETES Act, which authorizes federal funding for improving education in science, technology, engineering and math (the so-called STEM fields) and increased R&D in federal laboratories, was passed 367-57 in the House of Representatives, and unanimously in the Senate. And yet it has received no appropriations save a small increase in money for science and engineering R&D.
An even more comprehensive, serious, and sustained commitment to maximizing America's human capital and its technological capacities will ensure access to the highest quality of education and job training for all Americans, generate both short and long-term solutions to the energy crisis, and guarantee our continued global competitiveness and economic growth.
Goals of a comprehensive national energy education policy
1. Improve quality of and access to education in energy-related fields, such as science, mathematics, engineering, technology and policy at universities and colleges.
- Expand funding for energy research via new research grants and graduate fellowships
- Provide financial aid and loan forgiveness for students entering energy-related fields; additional funding of the National SMART (Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent) grant
- Expand energy-related service learning and work-study opportunities
- Create new multidisciplinary curricula focused on the energy challenge
2. Support the development and implementation of new workforce training programs in clean energy industries.
- Support partnerships with industry and community organizations identifying workforce training needs and developing training programs
- Provide funding for workforce training programs at our nation's technical and community colleges
3. Provide improved training and resources for energy-related educators at the K-12 and collegiate levels.
- Incentivize teaching careers (loan forgiveness, Teacher Corps, TEACH grant expansion)
- Support innovative teaching methods in the classroom
- Grants for educational resources (laboratory equipment, a/v materials)
- Summer training and research opportunities for K-12 teachers
4. Create and support innovative energy research centers in national laboratories and university campuses.
- Incentives to create professional science and engineering programs/centers on campuses
- Grants supporting innovative undergraduate curriculum & research programs
- Provide tax breaks to employers of workers seeking continuing education in energy-related fields
- Incentivize careers at national laboratories
- Support for basic research through competitive grants administered through existing federal research labs
5. Create "innovation pipelines" to move new products out of research labs and into private sector ventures.
- Support collaboration between government research facilities, higher education institutions, and industry on technology demonstration projects
- Provide incentives for the creation of research parks and other forums facilitating communication and technology transfer between private firms and university research labs
For more information:
See Teryn Norris' and Jesse Jenkins' July 30 op-ed, "Realizing his vision," in the Baltimore Sun
See recent blog posts on why education is a good investment and the recent media coverage