The Daily O’Collegian

It’s Earth Day. Maybe not for you in the future, but as I type, it is.

Thus, I have a heightened sense of the unnecessary environmental degradation writing a column that no one will read causes.

I do not blame you. I would probably skip the environmental column too. I couldn’t care less about what would happen if everyone in the world took one less minute in the shower.

We are in America, land of excess. I did not buy an iPod dock for my bathroom to take brief showers. I wish I was joking.

Instead, I turn to an unlikely source of environmental discourse, Newt Gingrich.

At this point, Gingrich has become the political world’s version of Wooderson from “Dazed and Confused.” He’s the guy that should have left years ago, but still shows up at all the parties.

Newt keeps getting older; the interns stay the same age. Maybe I should have saved that joke for Bill Clinton. I digress.

Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and co-author of “A Contract with Earth,” participated in a chat with readers of Slate Magazine earlier this week about his vision for America’s role in the environmental movement.

In his book and chat, Newt Gingrich proved that environmental issues can be safe territory for conservatives.

Gingrich’s main thesis is a simple one. America needs a bipartisan effort to promote environmental stewardship through entrepreneurial and scientific advancements.

His proposal is not one of coercion. Rather, Gingrich proposes an incentive system to promote solutions.

This includes actions such as increasing the funding for the National Science Foundation, giving tax credits for reducing carbon emissions and augmenting government sponsored prizes for environment-friendly innovations.

This type of nonrestrictive incentives-based program is exactly what America needs.

Companies facing punishments have a singular focus: To avoid the punishment. Incentives promote effort to actually make changes. If companies are given incentives to develop their own solutions, they are more likely to come up with something unique and effective.

Further, incentives reward real progress rather than rewarding the ability to maneuver around the rules.

Gingrich understands that incentive based environmental programs are preferable to coercive regulation-based programs.

More importantly, Gingrich understands the dire situation we face with developing nations like China and India.

With both of these countries in the midst of economic growth, it is unlikely that either will succumb to attempts at regulating their industries.

Thus, technological solutions become a key to the reduction of international environmental problems.

Gingrich proposes that the development of an inexpensive hydrogen car would “change the trajectory of environmental impact for China and India,” according to the Slate article.

Gingrich argues that the U.S. government should take on a leadership role in paying for and developing scientific solutions to environmental issues.

Although it is risky to put all of the environment’s eggs into the science basket, we can all agree that at least some eggs should reside there.

Because in the end, lifestyle changes — although admirable — are not going to fix everything.

We need to hedge pollution in the industrial sector. And the best (and most difficult) way to do this is through incentives as opposed to rules and regulations.

Gingrich knows this. The older he gets, the more rules they try to get him to follow. You just got to keep livin’, Newt. L-I-V-I-N.