John F. Kennedy challenged the American nation to do great 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." He uttered those words because the Soviet Union had launched its first satellite, Sputnik, into space, and the United States did not even have a space program in place. It was a moment of revelation - victory was not assured, and the United States might not come out of this cold confrontation on top.
That was half a century ago. This year, President Obama in his State of the Union Address declared "a Sputnik moment" has befallen us. Already the phrase has been quoted in the press numerous times, and the President undoubtedly intended for that section of the speech to receive greater public scrutiny. With many eyes and ears focused on his next words, the President talked about greater investment particularly in the field of clean energy technology.
Yes, part of this is rhetorical. Since the days of Woodrow Wilson, presidents have sought to connect themselves with the public while addressing Congress with the State of the Union address. They have used the annual speech as a way to set the national agenda and bring attention to important developments.
But President Obama's allusion is a deceptively apt one. Throughout the address, the elephant in the room was the emerging economic superpower that is China. With a population and GDP growth rate triple the size of the U.S.'s, it poses a threat to American dominance. In fact, some observers have declared U.S. dominance to be a thing of the past century; this is the emerging markets' century, with China at the forefront.
Yet public sentiment toward China is nothing like what it was toward the Soviet Union in Eisenhower's days. This is most likely because today's problems are economic ones. Unlike Sputnik, a looming economy does not invoke the images of a foreign attack on the U.S. from outer space. To the typical American, the threat of losing jobs and becoming dependent on foreign trade are not immediate issues. With the problem framed as an economic one rather than an existential one, the sense of urgency is diminished.
Much like what happened when the Russians first jumped ahead of the United States in the space race, however, China has found itself firmly in front of the U.S. with solar energy technology. Evergreen Solar, the third-largest maker of solar panels in the U.S. with the help of more than $43 million in government subsidies, is now closing its main North American factory and laying off 800 workers by the end of March. And the crux of its restructuring plans will come with a shift of production to a joint venture with a Chinese solar company.
The truth is, however much the United States has tried to offer help to solar companies in an effort to advance the technology, China has spent much more. Companies looking to borrow money required for expenditures such as opening factories can do so in China under favorable terms.
As a result, Chinese solar panel manufacturers comprised the majority of global production in 2010. China's market share in the U.S. now rests at nearly a quarter, having grown sixfold during the past two years.
Every American can feel his dependence on energy in the form of oil from the Middle East. It has made international relations with the region difficult in addition to making life harder for U.S. consumers. Today solar energy still only accounts for a tiny fraction of American power production. But a paradigm shift is occurring - concerns about climate change have brought the topic of clean energy to the forefront of discussion. The U.S.'s difficulty to act is further complicated by the fact that the Congressional Budget Office projects a $1.5 trillion deficit for 2011, and those call for hard decisions. But if it does not act, America may find itself dependent on China to tap the sun's energy.
Hidyuki's column runs biweekly Wednesdays. He can be reached at h.liu@cavalierdaily.com
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