Questions on the Apollo Alliance

Frequently Asked Questions on The Apollo Alliance

This article can be used with Land and Freedom Economics Lesson 14, on Economic Growth: Stuff vs. Satisfaction.

What is it?

The Apollo Alliance is a broad coalition within the labor, environmental, business, urban, and faith communities in support of good jobs and energy independence. It has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO and 23 international labor unions as well as a majority of national environmental organizations.

The Apollo Alliance is pursuing a $300 billion, public-private program to create three million new, clean energy jobs to free America from foreign oil dependence in ten years. It is a program that reinvests in the competitiveness of American industry, rebuilds our cities, creates good jobs for working families, and ensures good stewardship of both the economy and our natural environment.

"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too."
--President John F. Kennedy's speech announcing his Apollo Project, at Rice University in Houston, Sept. 12, 1962. Kennedy went on to say this:
To be sure, all this costs us all a good deal of money. This year’s space budget is three times what it was in January 1961, and it is greater than the space budget of the previous eight years combined. That budget now stands at $5,400 million a year -- a staggering sum, though somewhat less than we pay for cigarettes and cigars every year. Space expenditures will soon rise some more, from 40 cents per person per week to more than 50 cents a week for every man, woman and child in the United States, for we have given this program a high national priority -- even though I realize that this is in some measure an act of faith and vision, for we do not now know what benefits await us."
The budget figure mentioned above, $5.4 billion, amounts to $33.7 billion in 2005 dollars.

Why is it called the Apollo Alliance?

The name is homage to President John F. Kennedy's Apollo Project, which put a man on the moon in under ten years. The Apollo Alliance calls for a bold leadership vision, strong public action, and a shared national commitment to pressing challenges.

Who supports it?

Governors, Labor Unions, Environmentalists, business and community leaders from Washington state to New England! To see a complete list click here.

Why are labor unions and businesses backing what seems like an environmental program?

Clean energy is no longer just "an environmental program." It is the best way for America to revitalize its economy. Since January, 2001, our country has seen the worst rate of job loss since the Great Depression. To solve our economic crisis we need more than short term stimulus -- we need to invest in the growing global markets of the future, we need to rebuild the infrastructure of our communities, and we need to increase the efficiency and productivity of our economy as we preserve good jobs at home. New investment in energy independence can do all this.

Are global markets for clean energy growing?

By leaps and bounds! Consider solar power, a technology that American companies invented with the help of the federal government. Over the last five years the Japanese increased their share of the global market for solar energy from 25 to 50 percent. Solar is a technology America invented. But whereas Japan and Europe have invested heavily in these new technologies, guaranteeing their success in the market, we have let these technologies race ahead of us. Today European companies control 90 percent of the wind turbine production.

What does a clean energy future look like?

Imagine:

Retooling abandoned factories to create new energy technology like windmills, solar panels, and hydrogen fuel cells.
helping existing plants stay open by encouraging new investments in high performance capital equipment and worker training.
The American auto industry leading the world in developing the next generation of advanced technology hybrid and hydrogen cars.
Putting hundreds of thousands of men and women to work installing and maintaining solar panels on every new home, office and government building.
Employing hundreds of thousands more Americans retrofitting old buildings to become more energy efficient.
Building a new generation of public infrastructure from mass transit and high speed rail, to hydrogen distribution, to a modernized electrical grid.
Conserving billions of dollars of taxpayer and ratepayer money through increased efficiency, protecting consumers, workers, and the environment.

A clean energy future means greater prosperity, security and health.

What will be the impact on autoworkers?

A clean energy future is a way to save the American auto industry, which is currently losing market share to the Japanese who have innovated higher-efficiency vehicles. The Apollo Alliance's plan would require the President to bring together industry, labor and environmental leaders to work out a win-win-win strategy for business, workers and the environment. A major investment in the industry is key to helping American automakers make the transition to higher efficiency cars and trucks while protecting working families and increasing our global competitiveness.

Isn't $30 billion a year more than the country can afford at a time when next year's budget deficit will be $450 billion?

Apollo is a strategic investment that will both pay for itself and help reduce the deficit. A recent econometric analysis shows investments in clean energy create over four times as many jobs as tax cuts and generate large returns on investment.

Other than JFK's moon shot, is there a precedent for a new Apollo project?

Yes, there are several. In the 1950s the federal government spent billions of dollars building the interstate highway system. It was a project crucial to sustaining economic growth and insuring our national security. And in the 1960s the Defense Department created the Internet and guaranteed the market for microchips, an investment that led directly to the electronics revolution. Some projects are simply too big and too strategic for the private sector to do alone.

What is the Apollo Alliance doing at the state and local level to promote good jobs and energy independence?

We are energizing and supporting State and Local Apollo Alliances across the country. State and local Apollo Alliances bring together coalitions of local and statewide stakeholders including labor leaders, environmentalists, progressive business leaders, and community members, working to add good jobs and promote energy independence in the areas of renewable energy development, energy efficiency, alternative transportation means, smart growth, and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Since 2003, the national Apollo Alliance has helped to build many of these on-the-ground partnerships, and has provided vision and technical support to numerous activists working to achieve similar goals.

What's the connection between foreign oil and national security?

Saudi oil money finances the Al Qaeda terrorist network and likely helped pay for the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Because oil can be controlled by a small handful of powerful individuals, including large oil companies, America will remain vulnerable to political instability in the Middle East for as long as we remain dependent on its oil.

Won't getting independent of oil just hurt the economies of the Middle East and increase anti-Americanism?

Oil has not been good for ordinary people in the Middle East because it concentrates wealth and power in the hands of a few, ultra-rich families and fuels religious extremism and violence. The Middle East has the potential to be a major producer and exporter of hydrogen, which automakers and energy companies alike agree will be the dominant fuel of the next energy economy. The most benign method of creating hydrogen is through electrolysis — putting electricity into water and extracting hydrogen gas. The electricity to power hydrogen production could come from wind and sunlight — resources that are especially abundant in the Middle East.

Isn't it technically impossible to be totally independent from foreign oil in ten years?

We don't need to end all imports of foreign oil. We just need to end our dependence on foreign oil. We can achieve that goal by making strategic investments in new technologies, including hybrid and hydrogen cars, backed up by strong standards of efficiency.

Things to Think About

What is the connection between this proposed Apollo Alliance and the original Apollo space program?
How does the cost of the original Apollo program compare to the proposed cost of the Apollo Alliance?
What are some reasons why there is not yet a larger market for clean energy sources?
Why would this initiative be good for the US auto industry?
Name two other large, federally-funded programs that yielded large benefits.
Do you agree with the recommendations made in this article? Explain.