President Barack Obama called upon America to lead the world in energy innovation in a speech Friday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Obama, who was in Massachusetts to campaign for Gov. Deval Patrick, spoke for about 20 minutes to 750 MIT attendees on not only what his administration, political colleagues and MIT and its academic peers have achieved, but what they must work towards in energy reform.
He recognized that there is ‘no silver bullet’ for solving the global energy crisis, but instead issued an international challenge to the first nation that finds the sustainable technologies to dominate the 21st century.
‘The nation that wins this competition will be the nation that leads the global economy,’ Obama, a Harvard University alumnus, said. ‘I am convinced of that. And I want America to be that nation. It’s that simple.’
Obama stressed that with $80 billion in stimulus funds allocated to energy innovation, his administration has made a monumental investment in a cleaner, cheaper and more efficient energy future.
‘The Recovery Act, the stimulus bill, represents the largest single boost in scientific research in history,’ he said. ‘That’s an increase in funding that’s already making a difference right here on this campus.’
Before his speech, Obama toured some of MIT’s most innovative research projects geared towards environmental-sustainable technologies. MIT’s work, he said, shows today’s Americans are ‘heirs to a legacy of innovation.’
‘It taps into something essential about America. It’s the legacy of daring men and women who put their talents and their efforts into the pursuit of discovery,’ he said. ‘Even in the darkest of times this nation has seen, it has always sought a brighter horizon.’
Though he said innovation and discovery are part of the American DNA, he also recognized the difficulties of today’s energy crisis, including replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, oil imports with clean energy exports and combating climate change.
Obama recognized the opposition he faces in working toward these goals, calling the opposition cynics for downplaying climate change or questioning the economic feasibility of his plans. But he said such pessimism is the greater threat.
‘Implicit in this argument is the sense that somehow we’ve lost something important, that fighting American spirit, that willingness to tackle hard challenges . . . that we can act collectively, that somehow that is something of the past,’ he said. ‘I reject that argument . . . because of what we know we are capable of achieving when called upon to achieve it.
‘We have always sought out new frontiers, and this generation is no different,’ he said.
He ended his remarks by reiterating his call to action.
‘If you will join us in what is sure to be a difficult fight in the months and years ahead, I am confident that all of America is going to be pulling in one direction to make sure that we are the energy leader that we need to be,’ he said.
Obama thanked Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., for his work on clean energy legislation. Kerry and other state officials, including Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, Attorney General Martha Coakley and Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons were in attendance. Mayor Thomas Menino met Obama at Logan International Airport Friday morning but did not attend the speech.
MIT President Susan Hockfield introduced Obama and emphasized the extensive energy work MIT students and faculty members are doing to answer the ‘bold challenge’ of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
‘We share President Obama’s view that clean energy is the defining challenge of this era,’ she said.
Hockfield was followed by MIT Energy Initiative Director and distinguished professor Ernest Moniz, who commended the President for his commitment to research and development and leadership by example.
‘The President has reestablished the United States as a member of the community of nations, committed to meeting the linked challenges of climate change, economic development and security,’ he said.
MIT Graduate Student Council President Alex Hamilton Chan said before the speech that he felt the President’s visit was an exciting acknowledgement of MIT’s role in energy innovation.
‘Energy is very much a topic that is the heart of this institute,’ he said. ‘Just as a previous generation of MIT students answered to the call of President Kennedy to land someone on the moon, I hope that this generation of MIT students would answer this President’s call to create a more clean energy future.’
Boston University College of Liberal Arts 1969 alumnus Rick Mattila said the speech was ‘inspiring.’
‘I’m glad he mentioned energy efficiency,’ Mattila, Genzyme environmental affairs director, said in reference to simple conservation actions like turning off the lights. ‘So much of what we use can be saved and changed right now. Everyone can do it . . . It’s a consciousness.’
Cambridge City Councilor Henrietta Davis said the President’s commitment to making America an energy leader was ‘a big move.’
Davis said Cambridge would answer the call.
‘You’re in Cambridge,’ she said. ‘It’s going to start here.’
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