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Last week's financial maelstrom should have gotten your attention.
In addition to the worries bedeviling most of us about whether our personal investments are safe, the tornado tearing through the global financial system probably ripped apart any remaining complacency that banking will always be the big kahuna of the Charlotte region's economy.
Bank of America and Wachovia continue to be excellent employers and corporate citizens. Most everyone in town fervently wishes a sound future for them. But just as the era of textiles has ended, the era of banking might not be with us forever either. It is time for this region to envision another era.
That's nothing new for Charlotte. From its first days as a Colonial crossroads, its inhabitants had big dreams. Early settlers even pooled resources and built a log courthouse – on spec. They thought it might help Charlotte's chances to be named county seat. Their bet paid off.
Charlotte has been a gold-rush town, a railroad town, a textile town and – most recently – a banking town. Those things change. But this hasn't: It has always been a place with its eye on the Next Big Thing.
As you'll read in the 2008 Citistates Report, starting on Page 1 of this section, urban writers Neal Peirce and Curtis Johnson recommend looking beyond banking. Yes, they say, the 1980s and 1990s were an extraordinary time for Charlotte's banking buccaneers. But, notes Mr. Johnson, “The leadership around the '80s banking – that's a lot more rare than people think it is, for any region.”
They point to a national need that, they say, dovetails with this region's need for change. They ask: “Can we do, in energy, what we did in banking a generation ago?”
The nation obviously needs to wean itself from Middle East oil, from energy profligacy and from spewing more carbon-dioxide per person than any other nation. The globe is in peril.
And if that isn't enough to get your attention, maybe $5- or even $10-a-gallon gasoline is. The country needs new leadership on energy, say Mr. Peirce and Mr. Johnson, and it isn't likely to come from a sluggish Washington. So, they ask, why not Charlotte? Why shouldn't this region – with its history of economic innovation – re-invent itself as a leader in green energy?
The notion isn't far-fetched, especially if you include nuclear in the non-carbon-energy category. New energy companies are sprouting here. Some serve “old” energy, such as Duke Energy. But a cluster of solar- and even wind-power businesses is emerging – something to build upon, say the Citistates writers.
And Duke Energy is positioning itself as a national leader in changing the roles of traditional power companies. Duke CEO Jim Rogers is outspoken about his company's need to find new paradigms – even to de-carbonize.
But – here's the significant question – is the region ready to push for that new future? Are residents willing to make energy conservation, as well as energy generation, a don't-even-think-about-it habit?
“It's going to have to be something approaching a movement that begins to alter the culture of the charlotte region,” Mr. Johnson said in an interview. “It's about changing the way we think about using energy.”
Further, it means embracing the notion that – yes – global climate change is real and threatens our national security. Many leaders throughout the region haven't yet been willing to concede even that much. Whether they can enthusiastically embrace a push for conservation and for trimming Charlotte's carbon footprint doesn't have a sure answer.
Mr. Johnson and Mr. Peirce and their colleagues interviewed some 200 people throughout the region. They think we're ready. But, Mr. Johnson cautions, “It's by no means a slam dunk.”
