A refreshing and optimistic op-ed by KC Golden, policy director of Climate Solutions. Golden points out that 2005 is turning out to be a banner year for Washington–a year that includes both a turning away from energy-dependence and several encouraging steps toward a smarter and more efficient energy-economy that benefits everyone.

In a time when partisanship seems all the rage, Golden’s point about ending our addiction to fossil fuels is right on the money:

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Stories like this don’t tell themselves.

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We cannot rise to this challenge if we stay stuck in the well-worn ruts of political identity — east vs. west; left vs. right; Republican vs. Democrat; environment vs. economy. We’re going to miss the boat if the only story we’ve got is "us versus them."

It’s a familiar story, this battle among special interests. But it’s useless. It enriches political consultants and it spices up talk radio, but it gets us nowhere and we can’t afford to go nowhere. We’ve got a fossil fuel age to end and a new, clean energy economy to build. We need a much richer, more constructive story — a story that multiplies, not divides.

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