The Clean Energy Bill Story You Haven't Heard

In these days following the House of Representatives' passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), there's a wide range of opinions on the implications of this massive bill - particularly among progressive and environmental groups.

Whatever their opinions on ACES, these groups all agree on one thing: Now that it's the Senate's turn to take on energy legislation, making ACES better will be a tough battle.

But there is at least one story that gives reason for hope for the Senate fight: The story of how an unlikely coalition successfully pushed to include key provisions in the bill - provisions that will bring economic opportunity to disadvantaged communities.

ACES now includes almost $1 billion in funding for job training programs, and it ensures local access to quality jobs in green construction. Thanks to bold collective efforts, the House adopted these provisions, and the bill now includes opportunity for communities that too often languish at the margins of American prosperity.

The Push for Equity

This unexpected success would simply not have happened without a broad range of groups - many of whom are not known for their engagement in climate and energy issues - coming together for a better, more equitable ACES. This coalition was made up of civil rights, social justice, labor, environmental, faith and community groups.

The Center for Community Change, Partnership for Working Families, National Employment Law Project, and Building Trades Department of the AFL-CIO worked with Green For All in developing a proposal for creating local access to quality jobs in ACES.

And established civil rights groups like the NAACP, Democracia USA, and Leadership Conference on Civil Rights piled on with a big legislative push to get this proposal into the bill. On the Hill, it was members of the Black and Hispanic Caucuses that pressed for the provisions. Champions like Representatives Bobby Rush, Emanuel Cleaver, and Ben Ray Luján in particular participated in the discussion and fought for their communities.

The leadership role taken on by advocates for people of color and the working poor has never before been seen on this scale when it comes to climate and energy legislation. It was essential to getting the equity provisions into ACES, and has helped shift the terms of the debate.

Senators should hear this message loud and clear as they draft legislation: Opportunity for low-income communities must be included.

The Equity Provisions:

1. $860 million allocated to the Green Jobs Act. This measure will provide training to workers who need new skills for clean energy jobs - training that can be the first step on a pathway from poverty to a steady green career.

2. Local access to quality jobs, through the creation of a green-construction, careers-demonstration program. Representative Bobby Rush authored this amendment, which will promote middle-class careers and quality employment practices in the green construction sector. This program will empower the Secretaries of Labor and Energy to ensure that these green construction jobs are good jobs, and are accessible to low-income communities and local workers.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is this: shifting to clean energy means redefining the very foundation of our economy. We must make sure that the principles of equity and opportunity for all are etched into that foundation.

That means we need strong job quality standards. That means we need opportunities for low-income communities, opportunities like training, standards, and local hiring provisions, to be written into the laws.

And that means we need strong allies, a broad movement of supporters, and bold champions on the Hill to make it happen.

As we look ahead to the Senate crafting its version of energy and climate legislation, we'll need the political power, and people power, that a broad coalition can wield when it stands on common ground.

The House passing ACES in and of itself may seem like more of the same, with groups on both sides arguing the merits of the bill.

But look closer. Because we're gaining strength, we're forging partnerships, and we're building a growing consensus that low-income communities and communities of color must have a fair stake in a new clean energy economy.

Comments

[RomeoMD25]

One of the biggest hoax's in modern time, the global warming hoax, as all hoaxes, myths and lies their biggest enemy is undeniable reality, facts and the plain truth.
The global warming hoax has been turned into a religious style 'believe' with its own fanatics, environmental wackos and green lunatics, to these people mere 'facts', science, rational thinking and reason doesn't matter, nor that we have got cycles of ice-age and warm periods well documented throughout history and through science.

Global warming theory represents one of the greatest scientific con games in history. The putative intellectual foundations are based on data manipulated to support the desired conclusion, and have been conclusively debunked

[research]

It may be a mistake, but it's not a hoax or a deliberate fraud.

Pretty much 100% of the people are completely sincere in their believe that human CO2 is causes dangerous climate change.

The Haman Climate change deniers on the other hand, are mostly insincere or dupes of very obviously insincere fossil business interests. The Conservatives have spent big money creating doubt without concern for true science.

So you are projecting.

[effitol]

Please direct me to your “scientific” historical sources of "well documented" scientific data on cyclical “warm” and “ice-aged” periods.

When was that last ice age exactly?

The human race is a failed experiment. We’ve decimated this planet. We should all be a lot less arrogant, and a lot more afraid.

[LEEDer]

Too bad some of these other commentators aren't engaged in forming collaborations in their communities to develop green jobs. The Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiatives has identified the field of energy efficiency as one of four green sectors that has immediate job opportunities for energy auditors and weatherization workers.
The number of residential units to be weatherized in Chicago will increase from 3,500 units this past year to 11,000 in the new program year starting today (July 1, 2009) and then increase to 16,000 units in the following year. To undertake this volume increase, 25 new contractors will be added to the current list of 18 approved contractors; all of which will have increased hiring needs. It is essential as a community development strategy that local residents have the skills to compete for jobs generated by weatherization projects in their own communities. These jobs may initially be entry-level (paying $8 to $12 an hour to start); but they can also provide a first step to career-path opportunities in the energy efficiency field with additional training and educational opportunities.
Kudos to Congressman Rush and to Greeen For All for securing $860 million allocated to the Green Jobs Acts and assuring local access to these green jobs.

[Nudalhade]

How utterly preposterous and outright silly your pipedream is! You actually think the government is going to pick up the tab for all the "energy auditors" and "weatherization workers"? The homeowners and landlords are certainly not in any position to incur such extra expenses!

[BannedNBoston]

Legalize hemp thats the real green economy.
6X more fiber than cotton
8x more biodiesel than soy or canola
8x more btu's than corn

[lebensfroh99]

This bill is not about saving the planet. It's about making instant billionaires. Gues who? Al Gore, GE (w/sister companies like ABC, NBC), select members of Congress, Goldman Sachs, and all others who supported O (except the voters who actually voted for O). No matter, pretty soon I'll be among the many, collecting govt. assistance and my home will be foreclosed on, because this new ACES bill also requires homeowners to bring homes up to "green" standards, before selling. This requires money and/or equity I don't have, so I probably will end up "walking away". Have they lost their minds in Washington? No. They know exactly what they are doing.

[SteveMI]

Alternative energy is akin to alternative medicine.

It's only alternative because it doesn't work, if it did it would be 'mainstream' and you
wouldn't have to shove it down anyones throat.

why in the world would any energy company want to hassle with oil,coal/nuclear costs,deli­veries,reg­ulations,z­oning, protests etc etc if they could just buy a dirt cheap farm field
and fill it full of solar panels or windmills?

Why do countries spend billions importing coal/oil/gas if they could all be self sufficent with sunshine and wind??

oh right... a worldwide conspiracy!

[Nudalhade]

I couldn't have said it better, SteveMI!

[PerryWhite]

High paying jobs for low quality workers - made possible by the taxpayers.

[hoosier96]

Step one: Still underware.

Step two: ?????

Step three: Profits!

[sc300nc]

The bottom line is that it is a pork laden bill which includes the two provisions you described. Hopefully it will get squashed in the Senate.

[GardenerNorCal]

They call this ACES? Is that supposed to be a joke on the American consumers that will be paying more for everything under this while a new derivative casino game is set up called Cap and Trade?

It ranks right up there with the short lived OIL that was quickly changed when the American people wised up.

The only people for this plan either have their hands out for a payoff, or are blinding buying into all the green hype.

[sc300nc]

Also referred to in some areas as PORK! The bill is loaded with it.

[RonGallion]

There will be a 90% increase in energy, There will be governmental inspectors that will inspect a house for sell that will evaluate the windows, appliances, insulation, doors and if they do not meet energy star and governmental levels of efficiency you have to make the improvements before you can sell. Estimates of 2.5 million jobs lost, more importation of oil and gas, business costs go up and will be passed along. Not to mention Obama promised no taxes on under 250K, no lobbyists in administration,

There are no green energy for the masses except for Nuclear. Wind, Solar are only there because of government subsidies. If these technologies had promise private investors would invest and move it forward at warp speed, but the promise is not there. And now there are reports that the EPA covered up proof that global warming is a hoax, exactly what I have said for years. These are inconvenient truths for President Obama.

[sc300nc]

They will just drive the cost of traditional energy up until it reaches that of renewables. Then it's the same...brilliant!

[Fabian Pattberg]

An interesting post. Thanks fo sharing.

I definately believe that this bill will make a difference to help us get to an age of clean technology. We still have so long to go and so much to do. But lets get realistic about this. Could have anyone imagined this 5 years with bloody GWB at the helm?

We are going into the right direction and there is no stoping now in my opinion.

[Nudalhade]

Just what IS a "green job", and precisely how does one train for it? What does it pay? What benefits does it provide? Is it merely on par with WalMart, but requiring more job training?

Please ellucidate.

[sc300nc]

They don't know. It sounds good though. It's like climate change.

[GoldenAgeMaster]

Lot's of flowery stuff in there, which in the real world means it's all BS.

New Zealand and Australia shared information on their attempts to create green jobs. The most glaring result... for every one green job you create, you do away with 2.3 non-green jobs. This massive bill is an absolute jobs killer!

Please people, if you really want to help the poor, ask the Senate to vote "NO"!

[research]

Read the bill! It's 80% bankers investment derivatives credit default swap, carbon credit, gambling market.
60% of the money goes to expensive 14 cent per KWH "clean Coal".

Nothing for individual installing 3 cent per kwh rooftop solar.

1.85 per peak watt! retail!
http://www.atensolar.com/14.html
http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm
see my profile for more.

[rocketman69]

What did you expect from Democrats? "Clean Coal" made bigger contributions than the dirty hippies.

[ConservativeHippie]

Clean Coal is a joke that isn't funny, kind of like your crack about hippies.