It never ceases to amaze me what truly smart and resourceful people can do with might seem like very little. Isaac Newton had an apple fall on his head, and he goes on to describe gravity, meanwhile, I have an Apple iPhone with access to the entirety of human history and knowledge, and I struggle to figure out what to make for dinner. In today's era, where the winds of change can alter the course of billions in funds, the industry needs the really resourceful people more than ever before. Why? Well, lets look at Newton's First Law of Motion.
Historically, it's not unusual for policies and practices to change somewhat when new leadership takes the wheel of government. However, rarely have these changes been so pronounced and energized. During the previous Biden-Harris Administration, there were landmark moves towards a greener and more environmentally sustainable future for, not just our industry, but for the country as-a-whole. Billions of dollars were made available through bi-partisan legislation to not just rebuild and expand existing infrastructure, but to also upgrade the materials and practices behind the construction of that infrastructure.
In terms of Newton's First Law, a lot of (financial) force was put behind these initiatives. In other words, the ball is definitely rolling, and in order for that ball to change course, it will take an equal amount of (political) force. While there have been declarations made from President Trump's team in regards to rolling back many of these policies and projects, it's not as simple as that. Also, we have to ask ourselves, would undoing all those environmental policies actually be good for the asphalt industry? Maybe. Maybe not.
In the short term, perhaps, taking a few steps backwards would seemingly make things better for the asphalt industry, by removing some of the new requirements and standards that State and Federal projects now demand. Perhaps, some of the plants and producers who've been slower to adopt more efficient technology, EPDs, cleaner/safer practicer, etc. would be able to go back to business as usual. Unfortunately, I don't think, in the long-term, a serious and protracted effort to reverse in direction would benefit us at all.
Newton's Second Law says that an object's force is equal to its mass times acceleration. In our case, the boulder of environmental policy is a lot like the one that chased Indiana Jones -- it's huge and it's barreling down on us. It's had enough years already to make impacts that, even if those in charge wanted to put things back the way they were, in some cases, it wouldn't take due to the momentum it's gathered.
There are some contractors and companies all across the country that applied for and were granted funds to make efficiency improvements to their plants. Those who've taken an early-adoption stance towards these upgrades will have advantages that others won't if the programs were to be cancelled or withdrawn, the monies clawed back. States have been awarded hundreds of millions to electrify, improve resiliency, better safety measures, and reconnect communities. In other words, the genie is out of the bottle.
It's possible that, at the point we are at now, trying to pull things in the opposite direction could do more damage than simply seeing it through. In the meantime, we are going to spend more time this year covering more ways that you can take advantage of these programs yourself, and ensure that your operations are staying ahead of the curve. So, stay tuned.
See you on the road!
