Study Shows Stimulus Will Fight Global Warming

We're finally starting to move beyond the era of fossil fuels. According to a new study that my colleagues and I at Greenpeace commissioned from the prestigious consulting firm ICF International, the energy portions of the economic recovery package proposed by President Obama could reduce U.S. carbon dioxide pollution by at least 61 million tons, or about one percent of our annual total.

That's truly extraordinary. Traditionally, if the government spent $800 billion, it would create massive pollution. But by investing in measures like , home weatherization, federal building efficiency enhancements, and simple things like compact fluorescent light bulbs and better appliances, this stimulus package will not only create millions of jobs, but also give us a jump start on fighting the climate crisis and save people cold hard cash..

The other reason that's good news is that global warming is already taking a major toll on the economy. According to NRDC, floods, droughts, sea level rise, and other global warming impacts will create a $271 billion drag on the U.S. economy by 2025 alone. Any effective stimulus must address the growing threat of global warming.

Of course, the stimulus package is far from perfect. In particular, it includes about $30 billion in transportation spending that's slated for state governments to spend how they wish. If they spend it stupid, by putting it into new highway construction (which creates sprawl and paradoxically attract more cars) it would cause 10-50 times the global warming pollution than a similar expenditure on light rail or repairing existing roads. It would also create 19 percent fewer jobs than investing in transit.

And the Senate version includes $50 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear energy, which generates fewer jobs per dollar of investment than any other energy source. With the same investment, we could create 4.4 times the number of jobs through energy efficiency. If we want to maximize our job creation bang for our stimulus buck, Congress has got to shift way more of the stimulus package to ultra-high job intensity green options like land conservation, efficiency, and mass transit.

Comments

[ScottBrusaw]

We desperately need to get rid of fossil fuels entirely: oil, coal, and natural gas particularly.

Imagine this: we rebuild our highway infrastructure with structurally engineered solar panels that we drive on. This replaces petroleum-based asphalt. Our new road system collects, stores, and distributes power to homes and businesses. It becomes an intelligent, decentralized (secure), self-healing power grid - something else we desperately need.

An electric road allows all-electric vehicles to recharge anywhere: rest stops, parking lots, etc. Recharging with clean energy. This would eliminate the need for internal combustion engines entirely. No more coal-fired power plants and no more need for oil. What happens to greenhouse gases then? One more bonus: no more need for nuclear power plants.

www.solarroadways.com

[PlugINCarsRule]

We need to do everything in our power to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.We have so much available to use such as wind and solar as well as technologies to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. There could be no better investment in than to invest in energy independence. Create clean cheap energy,create millions of BADLY needed new green jobs, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.The high cost of fuel this past year did serious damage to our society and economy. Record numbers of jobs and homes have been lost due to the direct impact on our economy.Oi­l is finite.We are using it globally at the rate of 2 X faster than new oil is being discovered. Added to the strain on our supplies foreign countries are bursting in populations and becoming modern.Chi­na and India alone are expected to add another 3 million vehicles to their highways in the next 2 decades. I just read a fantastic book called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now by Jeff Wilson.Gre­at Book!
www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com

[cyclobenzaprine9]

Great! Global warming is a REAL and SERIOUS issue. The anti-science Bush-era global warming skeptics can continue to spew their ignorance, but I am so glad we finally have an intelligent Administration that cares about the environment again!!!