Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [159]
McCarty told the American people that things would get worse before they got better, but held true to his promise to implement the EEFA-18 in early January 2018. America answered the clarion call for action by shaking off its long hibernation and launching a sustained energy and environmental plan that should have started decades earlier. The EEFA-18 backed a massive public and private planning effort to build a national smart-grid electrical infrastructure along with a coast-to-coast high-speed electric rail transportation system with connecting points in between. A new push for low-cost loans spurred the growth of meaningful alternative-energy and demand-reduction programs tied to a strategic national energy plan. Federal preemptions removed the local red tape that so often stood as a barrier to innovation. No one expected immediate results, but the collateral benefit of jumpstarting job creation for the construction of a new clean energy infrastructure pulled many back from the economic brink. America had at last identified the crisis and was now determined to address it with a national resolution not seen since World War II.
The federal government began the lengthy and painful process of living within its means. Lower-priority government programs were discontinued and resources redeployed for rebuilding America. Federal payrolls were slashed 15 percent along with congressional salaries in a show of shared sacrifice. Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlements were frozen and citizens forewarned that entitlement reductions would commence in June 2018. Commensurate budget cuts and reallocations were also made in debt-ridden state and local governments throughout the country.
The Department of Energy, Transportation, and Climate-change successfully introduced a gasoline rationing plan. In many respects, the combination of sky-high gasoline prices and the economic depression dampened the demand for gas; where needed, the gas rationing plan exceeded all expectations.
The ETCC department also introduced a two-phase program to address the climate challenge. Phase I was a domestic effort to discourage the use of carbon fuels and encourage the use of cleaner, renewable-energy systems. The additional tax on carbon fuels and warning to polluters to clean up their act or face stiff fines had its desired effect. Utility companies were strongly encouraged to shift their profit incentives from energy used to energy saved, and the local regulatory hurdles and red tape that had prevented such actions were quickly bulldozed by federal preemptions under the EEFA-18 Act.
Phase II was scheduled to begin with an international conference slated for May 2018. Both China and the United States pledged to use their influence and economic muscle to mandate sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and offer a system of credits and financial supports for infrastructure development in poorer countries. Clayton McCarty and Lin Cheng recognized early on that their respective countries would have to “walk the talk” if they were to expect other nations to follow, and McCarty used this imperative as an effective lever to push for domestic climate-change initiatives in the United States.
The relationship between China and the United States continued to improve as both sides found new opportunities to work together. Lin Cheng addressed a joint session of Congress shortly after the death of President Burkmeister, helping McCarty to garner support for their collaborative effort and softening the criticism of those accusing McCarty of sleeping with the enemy. True to his word, Lin Cheng invited McCarty to address the Politburo and speak to the people of China in an uncensored presentation—an invitation he gladly accepted and carried out in late November.
Lin Cheng also had his hands full as the Politburo members felt the increasing