Go West, Old Men - New York Times
The New York Times

April 26, 2006
Op-Ed Columnist

Go West, Old Men
By
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

San Francisco

As any loyal N.F.L. fan knows, there is something called the "West Coast
offense" - a freewheeling style of play invented by Coach Bill Walsh.
Watching
the recent visit of China's president, Hu Jintao, left me wondering if
America wouldn't benefit from a "West Coast foreign policy."

It was surely no accident that President Hu made his first stop in the U.S.
in Washington State - not Washington, D.C. - to dine with Bill Gates, who
gave
him the "state dinner" that the Bush White House refused to extend. Why the
Bush team was unwilling to host the Chinese president for a state dinner is
beyond me. If I owed someone $1 trillion, I'd give him a state dinner. I'd
also give him breakfast, lunch and Chinese takeout.

But, more important than the meal, why the rush visit? Are there any two
leaders in the world with more to talk about than Presidents Bush and Hu?
How about
hammering out a joint position on Iran, since the only way that Iran is
likely to back down on its nuclear arms program is if China stands up to it?
How
about forging a joint Manhattan Project on alternative energy between the
U.S. and China, or a real plan to get Chinese consumers to spend more and
Americans
to save more to help balance our trade?

Since none of those issues got a meaningful airing, it's no wonder President
Hu went to Seattle first. At least with Microsoft or Boeing, he can do
deals.
Washington, D.C., has nothing to talk to China about because it is unwilling
to impose anything hard on itself and therefore cannot demand anything hard
from China.

My only regret is that President Hu didn't go home via California - a state
that has demanded something hard of itself and therefore could demand
something
hard of China.

China and California have a lot to talk about. California's air pollution is
increasingly made in China, and China's environmental solutions are
increasingly
made in California.

Here's how: Lately scientists have tracked pollutants from
fossil-fuel-burning cars and factories in China all the way over to
California, where they are
transported via winds. On any given day, particulates in the smog choking
big California cities can be traced to dust storms in China, which have been
exacerbated by rapid deforestation there. (China is making our cheap goods
at a steep environmental price.)

But while the Bush team is in no position to lecture China on the
environment, California is. Thanks to the energy efficiency standards that
California
has imposed on its own power industry, buildings and appliances over the
last 30 years - and its increasing reliance on renewable energy sources -
California
today consumes a little more than half as many kilowatt-hours of energy per
capita each year as the rest of America. This has helped California avoid
having
to build a whole slew of power plants.

This summer the California Legislature can push ahead even further when it
votes on the Global Warming Solutions Act, which would set a statewide cap
on
emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases that cause global
warming. The limits would be phased in by 2020 and require suppliers of
electricity
and fuels to dramatically reduce their use of fossil fuels through more
efficiency and renewable energy - so much so that the law, if passed, would
probably
spark a boom in green technologies in California and help California
companies become leaders in this 21st-century industry.

"Our strategy is to put California in a leadership position and help the
Chinese copy our regulations and incentives," said Bob Epstein, co-founder
of a
business-environmental coalition, Environmental Entrepreneurs.

We can't tell China not to use so much energy, especially given what energy
gluttons Americans are. We can lead only by example. The Bush team, though,
can't do that because it won't ask Americans to do anything hard on energy
or the environment.

But California can. If China could be persuaded to follow California's
model - strong energy standards and supportive government policies to
nurture the
widespread deployment of clean technologies - everyone could benefit, said
Rob Watson, who heads the Natural Resources Defense Council's international
energy programs. Imagine if China started making low-cost green appliances
and cars the way it does cheap shoes and shirts?

So here's hoping that the next time China's president comes to America, he
doesn't even bother to go to Washington, D.C. Why waste the gas? China's
business
is with America's West Coast foreign policy team, which can offer China's
president inspiration, examples and dinner.

Posted by Miriam V.