This is where presidential leadership can make a difference. The single most consequential mission that President Bush can undertake is to lead the world in solar-energy research and use. Solar-energy forms have been around for thousands of years. East Africans, Persians, and Greeks used passive solar architecture. Photovoltaic cells and solar thermal systems are now spreading in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Solar energy can eventually replace nuclear power, coal, oil, and gas.
It will reduce the risk of geopolitical struggles and diminish global warming, ozone depletion, air and water pollution, and dependence on distant supplies controlled by cartels and conglomerates. They lobby Washington for subsidies, which create an uneven energy playing field. With minor differences, both Democratic and Republican regimes have responded to this pressure. Bill Clinton and Al Gore had a great opportunity to steer U.S.-government dollars toward solar energy for federal buildings and remote military installations but did not do so. In this time of growing energy crises, Bush could confound his critics by launching a solar mission.