As I was saying…

At the Republican National Convention held in Minneapolis in September, I had the opportunity to attend a forum about national energy policy. The panelists, of course, were Republicans—free-market, free-trading, pro-business, limit-the-government Republicans.

And what they talked about was how the federal government needs to take an active role in promoting the use of renewable energy and create incentives for energy conservation. I wondered: "Are these sheep in elephants' clothing?"

Hardly. The obvious—and yet still striking—point is the energy debate no longer is about whether there should be government involvement in directing how energy markets work. Instead, the debate is and will continue to be—no matter the outcome of the 2008 elections—how and to what extent the federal government should involve itself.

In part, this is a recognition of a national imperative: We need new technologies to replace our dependence on fossil fuels, and there currently are insufficient economic incentives for using alternative energy sources without some government-created incentives. Those incentives, of course, will come as tax credits or mandates or some combination of the two.

The political differences are likely to be about whether incentives will alter behavior more than mandates and how many incentives or mandates are needed to cause change.

This is most likely good news for our industry, which is postured as the only industry that can simultaneously affect energy conservation and energy production (and while we're at it, help manage storm water and mitigate urban heat island effects). We clearly need to be part of the national dialogue, and we are increasingly better positioned to do so.

The new debate will take many forms. At the federal level, we'll see legislation introduced next year that will offer tax credits for using landscaped roof systems and photovoltaic building materials. We'll see similar legislation introduced in a number of states.

We'll also see the building codes and standards communities pay increasing attention to requiring efficiencies in new and existing buildings. Codes and standards have historically focused more on new construction; our industry has a compelling story to tell about how we can make huge improvements through the typical reroofing process.

As I've said before, change is coming quickly. It's at least as important for us to be thinking about not just what the change will bring but how it will take place. The roofing industry needs to be involved, more than ever, in both conversations.

Bill Good is NRCA's executive vice president.