Make US Strong » Spencer Sheaff

Jim Yong Kim named to lead World Bank

Spencer Sheaff — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:16:51 +0000

Yesterday, Jim Yong Kim, the president of Dartmouth College, was named the next President of the World Bank. Dr. Kim is a world health expert, with extensive experience in two major global killers – tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. He was formerly Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and was a co-founder and executive director of Partners In Health.

The World Bank, a 68-year-old institution developed at the Bretton Woods conference following WWII, gives low-interest loans to developing nations for infrastructure-based projects and capital programs designed to improve economic conditions and encourage investment in the developing world. For instance, the World Bank finances efforts to confront rising sea levels in the Maldives, municipal water projects in Armenia, and health sector programs in Burkina Faso.

Dr. Kim’s victory is expected to breathe life into the organization’s development mission and efforts to combat pandemic disease, along with lingering issues of malnutrition, changing landscapes, and post-conflict reconstruction.

Marshall Plan: A Template for the Future

Spencer Sheaff — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:49:00 +0000

Today marks a very important anniversary: it was sixty-four years ago today that President Harry S. Truman signed the Economic Recovery Program (ERP) – better known as “The Marshall Plan” – into law.

At the close of World War II, leaders of America’s Greatest Generation, like General George C. Marshall, understood that economic collapse in Europe wasn’t only a heart-wrenching humanitarian crisis, it was a threat to our nation’s security. With the Soviet army stationed to the East, and the strength of local Communist parties rising elsewhere in the world, Americans recognized that investing in Europe was crucial to preventing the spread of Communism. Through diplomacy and development, the Marshall Plan rebuilt Europe, bringing roads, schools, jobs, and hope to a shattered continent. Our award winning ad, “Tell ‘Em Joe Sent You,” demonstrates how we can put these same lessons to work today to prevent a nuclear Iran, support stability in Afghanistan, and ensure food security in the Horn of Africa.

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Diplomacy and development sixty years ago laid the groundwork for American strength and leadership today. We must ensure future American greatness by protecting the security tools that made us strong in the first place.

So today, on this important anniversary, keep in mind the lessons we learned from the Greatest Generation — and remind others of them on Facebook, Twitter, and, yes, in person. At a time when some in Congress would see the International Affairs budget recklessly cut, now is a more important time than ever to talk loud and clear about how development and democracy continue to keep America safe.

President’s 2013 Budget Supports Strong Development

Spencer Sheaff — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:56:07 +0000

In response to the release of the President’s 2013 budget, Truman National Security Project Advocacy Communications Director Benjamin Lowe released the following statement:

“It’s heartening to see that the President recognizes the important role of foreign operations in keeping America safe. International development has played a critical role in America’s security since the end of World War II, when we rebuilt Europe and Asia. International development is just as important to keeping the world stable—and the US safe—today. If the President’s budget is enacted, America can support the ongoing fight for freedom and democracy in the Arab world through the Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund. Other efforts will alleviate famine and extreme poverty, stabilizing regions before weakened governments collapse. It is our hope that Congress recognizes the importance of international development to keeping challenges small and far away, and adopts President Obama’s budget. Any cuts to these crucial programs will undermine America’s security and could cost us dearly in American dollars and lives.”

In 2011, the Truman Project launched Make US Strong, a campaign to make clear to Congress the critical link between international development and keeping America safe. Learn more at www.makeUSstrong.com.

Let There Be Light Launch Great Success

Spencer Sheaff — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:13:55 +0000

Speaking to a packed room at the George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs, Rachel Kleinfeld and Drew Sloan introduced their book, Let There Be Light: Electrifying the Developing World with Markets and Distributed Energy. More than seventy people listened with rapt attention as the two authors described how distributed energy, or energy disconnected from a central, national grid, can provide not only a marketable solution to the developing world’s energy poverty, but also provide crucial development that will keep America safe.

Drew Sloan currently works in the Client Solutions Department of the energy efficiency company, OPower, and was awarded two bronze stars and a purple heart for his service with the US Army in Afghanistan. Drew read an excerpt in which he recalls his realization of the importance of electrical power – particularly electric light – in the developing world. Standing watch at a military base in Afghanistan, Sloan realized that the brilliance of the stars in the Afghan sky, while stunningly beautiful, was a direct result of the lack of electric lights in the nearby village.

Since departing the military, Sloan has worked at both Rocky Mountain Institute under the direct tutelage of Amory Lovins as well and in the Commercialization Office at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Drew, who holds a Bachelor’s of Science in History from the United States Military Academy at West Point as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, remarked that the real challenge the world has faced in providing energy to the developing world is a challenge of scale. While government-to-government assistance has funded massive energy development projects, sheer cost coupled with corruption have drastically decreased the efficacy of these programs.

Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld, co-founder and CEO of the Truman National Security Project, explained a further benefit of distributed energy: matching the “product to the paycheck.” In order to create a demand for a product, said product cannot cost more than one paycheck of an ordinary person. Kleinfeld, who in 2010 was named one of the “Top 40 Under 40” Rising Political Leaders by Time Magazine, shared that in developing countries, manufacturers dramatically shrank the size of shampoo bottles so they could be purchased by the average consumer. Since the switch, single-serving shampoo packets have been flying off the shelves. A similar strategy ought to be applied to energy and energy infrastructure, argued Kleinfeld.

The pair stressed that the market would drive the energy revolution in the developing world, provided that the US and other providers would stop undercutting the nascent market by giving away faulty and poorly maintained energy solutions. If the world can ensure that solar panels, micro-hydro, and wind turbines are reliable, then slowly but surely consumers, especially businesses, will drive distributed energy onward.

The United States military is well on their way to implementing these strategies at home. “With distributed energy projects, you can build plants at scale and ramp them up over time,” explains Tim Keating, VP of field operations and marketing at Skyline Solar, a Silicon Valley-based concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) company with contracts to develop solar plants at Edwards Air Force Base and Fort Bliss. “You can build one or two or three megawatts, and put those online in a local grid, so not only can you scale up over time, but you also don’t have to worry about all the issues associated with transmission. Thirty percent of power sent out on transmission lines is lost right off the top.” According to Forbes, “By generating energy onsite, the military can help to ensure resiliency and reliability in its energy supply, which is clearly preferable to the vulnerability inherent in using energy from a source the military does not control.” Kleinfeld and Sloan’s book seeks to take this model from American military bases and market it as a worldwide solution to the problems of energy-poverty.

Administration talks International Development

Spencer Sheaff — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:47:21 +0000

Earlier this week, a proud veteran asked President Obama why we’re sending foreign aid to nations such as Pakistan. The President responded with an answer that is a stunning warrant for why we need to continue international development and why it’s important for our national interests.

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At only 1% of the US budget, international development has the potential to fight radicalism and extremism, prevent human suffering, build relationships with countries and their people, and prevents massive flows of refugees that destablize resources in other countries. International development increases cross-continental economic ties and keeps American service-men and –women out of the line of fire. It is foreign policy in the age of budget constraints. It is foreign policy in the age of social media and the 24-hour news cycle. It’s foreign policy in the age of non-state, asymmetrical actors.