The New Economy

By Jeffrey Dean Schwartz

There is a vital new economy to be found in conservation, and that is where the future lies. Arcata along with HSU has a small window of opportunity to seize this new economy and become a leading center of environmental innovation and implementation.

Arcata is uniquely qualified to take the prize on this one if we form a new wholly different partnership with HSU. The school is already up and running with a perfect environmental mindset and academic programs to accommodate the new economy. HSU already has all of the departments necessary to nurture and train and educate the students who will become the entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers and perhaps the next Noble Prize winners in the new economy -- conservation and alternate energy. HSU will train the students and Arcata will make sure the students stay in our community because we will help them start their businesses, incubate their ideas for alternative energy and provide them a supportive environment to work on the next environmental breakthrough.

This is how I see Arcata in the near future if we seize the moment. Look what is happening in other industries in other college towns. Many of you heard me use the analogy, "what Silicon Valley is to microchips, Arcata can be to environmental technology." Let me give you some real examples of what other cities have done because of their direct involvement with their academic institutions.

We know about Stanford and Silicon Valley.

The University of California at San Francisco nurtured biomedical technology. Not only is the 3 billion-dollar funded stem cell research center headquartered in San Francisco, but there are dozens, if not more, start-up companies run by former students and researchers who are trying to cure cancer. They all have offices and staff and a lot of research money brought in from the outside that stays in San Francisco.

Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo is the closest example of what Arcata and HSU can do. The school focuses on engineering and agriculture. Cal Poly researchers literally turned the jug wine grape industry into dozens of first-class wine appellations with their research on growing a better grape. That happened in less than ten years. There are dozens of former students who started small companies throughout the city and surrounding areas based on finding even better ways to grow grapes.

Then there is the business of bio-pest control. The Ag students and their professors and researchers have been working on finding bugs that eat bugs that eat crops. Like the startups trying to find the cure for cancer, there are again many start up companies trying to find the perfect bug that will eat the bugs that eat the crops. Most will not find the cure-all for substituting toxic poisons with bug eating bugs, but with everyone working and sharing their findings, they will someday. Again, money stays in the city and comes to the city from research grants and established companies with a stake in protecting crops naturally.

And, in a more mundane observation, the school of engineering pumps out hundreds of students who stay in San Luis Obispo to start up architecture and engineering firms.

By the way, did you know Cal Poly, a state univeristy, is a go-to school for agriculture and engineering? Students want to go to Cal Poly because of its reputation in those disciplines. We need to get students to want to go to HSU for environmental technology and environmental business. HSU needs to build its reputation to the general public not limit itself to the choir.

There is no reason whatsoever why Arcata and HSU can't do the same thing with the new economy of environmental innovation. It would take a little tweaking of the curriculum at the school and a whole lot of public relations to let students know that HSU will train you in a curriculum that is the true future where there will always be a good and lucrative job in a socially responsible field.

It's time that HSU stop looking in the nooks and crannies all around the country trying to lure only die hard environmentalists to come to HSU, (which is their current recruitment strategy). That strategy was fine 20 years ago when the only people who cared about the environment were environmentalists. Now everyone cares about the environment whether they like it or not. Brilliant innovative students, even if they don't yet care much about the environment, will care when they realize they can make a career out of it. When they see which way the wind is blowing they will come to HSU.

We promote this, and "we" means Arcata and HSU, with a theme such as, "Do you want to become the next CEO of an oil company or the next CEO of an alternative energy company? Where do you think the future lies?" Then we say something like you go to school here and come up with some good ideas or promising research on alternative energy and conservation and we'll set you up so you can continue your research right here in Arcata.

Now back to tweaking HSU curriculum. The environmental professors and departments are already here. That is a huge advantage over any other university town. But, we must insist that HSU modify the classes in the various departments to reflect the new economy. And this does not just apply to the environmental departments; it should apply immediately to the business school.

Why would someone go to HSU business school and take basic business courses that he or she can take at another school close by? What's the lure? But, if the business school focused on the new economy, the environment, that is the hook that will cause students around the country and world to want to go to the HSU business school. They will be trained and educated in the new economy. Like it or not the most socially responsible product in the entire world won't get off the ground without business acumen.

The same goes with other departments, one comes to mind, journalism. The journalism department should start developing environmental journalism classes of all kinds to lure students to the school. One of the biggest events the journalism department has ever had was the presentation by two National Geographic environmental journalists showing their slides from a trip across Africa.

We have niche and we must not lose this opportunity. If we start narrow mindedly thinking, "back to basics" and limit ourselves to fixing pot holes (fixing pot holes is easy by the way, think "Round Up for Arcata") and continue to reminisce about the 1980s, we'll miss the boat and ten years from now everyone will be ten years older with a lot more grey, and all of the students and children will be someplace else.

We can't wait any longer. In order to do this it takes a city council with a fresh perspective and an understanding and respect for the vital new economy that is our future.