The White House, the House and the Senate: a Clean Sweep for Clean Energy
On election day, voters in record numbers sent a message to the world. The United States will now be the leader, not the laggard in the race for clean energy technology and the fight against global warming. After eight years of energy policy written by Big Oil and embarrassing episodes from President Bush on the world's stage with respect to global warming, President-elect Barack Obama and stronger Democratic majorities in the House and Senate will put America on a faster track to a green economic recovery that will create millions of new green jobs, help America become energy independent, and cut global warming pollution.
Let's start with changes on Capitol Hill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who took the lead on new energy solutions and climate by creating the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, will have at least 24 additional seats in the House. Those seats would have made the difference this past summer when the Speaker attempted to crack down on oil market speculators and help consumers at the pump by tapping government oil reserves.
While the Democratic Congress achieved several major victories last year, including the first increase in fuel economy standards in 32 years and extending tax credits for wind and solar, several key pieces of energy legislation passed by the House were blocked by a handful of Senate Republicans. Their biggest push back was against passing a Renewable Electricity Standard, which would require America to generate 15 percent of its electricity from clean, renewable energy -a measure 26 states already have in place. But help is on the way. With the addition of my former House colleagues Mark and Tom Udall and several other new Democrats, the Senate is getting forward-thinking clean energy champions.
Another House victory that I hope passes the Senate in the next Congress is green building and efficiency legislation. As I mentioned in remarks last month at the National Building Museum, the building sector accounts for up to 48 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Improvements in the building sector can significantly reduce our energy needs and cut global warming pollution, all while updating our infrastructure and creating new jobs.
But for those in Congress working toward a real clean energy revolution in this country the biggest upgrade in Washington took place down the street at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. After eight years with two oil men in the White House, America increased our dependence on foreign oil and the price of gas at the pump skyrocketed. The Select Committee even discovered that the office of Vice President Cheney sought to obscure the dangers of global warming from the public by refusing to act to prevent any real action to cut heat-trapping emissions as directed in the Supreme Court case Massachusetts v. EPA.
In contrast, President-elect Obama has called for America to free our nation from Middle Eastern oil in 10 years time. An initiative that will require investments in wind and solar, reinvigorate our manufacturing sector and launch a clean tech revolution.
In his historic acceptance speech, President-elect Obama mentioned we face the challenge of a planet in peril. The climate crisis is indeed an international challenge, one that will require leadership from the United States. If we take the correct steps, America will strengthen our standing on both foreign policy and global trade issues.
While navigating energy and climate legislation through Congress will be a challenge, President-elect Obama recruited a real ace in Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. While losing Rahm is a blow to the House -- no one was more tenacious in the fight to protect consumers from Big Oil hypocrisy -- his ability to navigate Capitol Hill and his dedication to clean energy and creating American jobs bodes well for future energy and climate action.
In conclusion, both the new White House and Congressional Democrats applaud the historic young vote and volunteerism which helped propelled us to victory this election. As I witnessed first hand when thousands of students packed my global warming hearing room, the youth of today want green jobs now. We owe it to this and future generations to transition to a clean economy with all deliberate haste.
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BOTH Energy and Medical Care should be taken clean out of the for-profit market,
and managed transparently by public-controlled agencies.
This is a slam-dunk. There's still plenty of things that can be left
to Business---Just not Medical care and energy.
Oh, and you can add WATER to that, since bottled-water companies are
draining precious acquifers all over the world for profit.
The Free Market is good for some things and HORRID for other things.
As a society, we need to start making those vital distinctions.
The Rich & the Elite will always object to such progress, because they can
make money off ANYTHING---They'd charge us to BREATHE, if they could.
Human society cannot endure more control by greedy, destructive, vampiric Elites.
Their power must be broken!
You are completely correct on this. This has to take the demeanour of a war for our survival. We cannot compromise any more, there is no time left.
we have the technology we need now if only big oil would get out of the way. An example of two technologies that either are ready or could be very soon;
nanotech solar paint - it not only utilizes the normal sun rays, it also uses the infrared spectrum. Current technology is approx 6% efficient, this is 30%. You can paint anything. Paint your roof - power your house, paint a hydrogen car, it creates it's own power. You can even interweave it in a sweater to power your cell phone. It is here, now, though would need an investment to bring to market . Could start painting homes in under 3 years if took seriously.
Nuclear powerplants the size of a storage shed. No moving parts, no chance of meltdown. Can not be used for fuel for weapons. Each one will power 20,000 homes - cost per household - 250.00
These are just two technologies that we have now. We could have been off oil a decade ago except big oil runs the show. Imagine if we took just one years worth of tax cuts (4 billion) and invested in technology -
Only down side - big oil will fight back and it would take a national effort as they will demonize and fight it every step of the way. Would have to go on national tv to promote it or may "disappear"
We could be off imported oil in under a decade if someone would fight back
Looks like there are going to be issues with natural gas depending on where and how we drill for it.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_47/b4109000334640.htm
Many of the watersheds in the northeast are just now starting to recover from decades of mine runnof, raw sewage, and other industrial pollution and I'm not sure the people in these regions want to trade shoft term profit for big energy against long term damage to the watersheds. I wish it were as easy as some people make it sound, but I'm thinking we need to go more solar, wind, and hybrid technology and be careful about going 'all in' on any fossil fuels that create massive amounts of pollution to the watersheds.
As for the naysayers....For the life of me I can't understand why you object to cleaner air we breathe, cleaner water to drink, healthy soil to plant the food we eat, and on which to raise the animals we consume in our diet. I don't understand why you object to living in a healthier environment which would cut down on all manner of disease.
Why would you object to our buildings etc...needing less maintainence, due to less pollutin in the air.
Perhaps you enjoy seeing destruction of forests due to acid rain.
As some of you object to the visuals of wind farms etc. (I happen to think they are beautiful) I suppose you prefer looking a oil riggs and refineries, nuclear power plants and having nuclear toxic waste dumped in your area, and oil pipelines crossing our most pristine wilderness areas. They're asthetic.
I wonder how much it costs to transport oil in giant trucks across the roads in our country, and tankers in our oceans...and aren't those oil spil accidents on our coasts lovely...and how about that Three Mile Island?
Of coarse wouldn't it be a darn shame to have to tell the Middle East and Venezula to take their oil and shove it...WE put our people to work and we now provide our own clean, green, renewable energy, so thanks but no thanks.
Do the youth of today realize that they might need an education in math or science in order to get one of those green jobs?
My guess is no...
A thousand comments on Palin articles, and not a one here nearly three hours after posting. Our priorities are askew.
One of the most critical pieces of this whole article is the Renewable Electricity Standard. The only way we are going to get serious investment in alternative energy is to legislate the "backstop" against which everybody is going to play. If our utilities and venture capitalists know that their alternative energy investments won't be undercut next month by a sudden drop in fossil fuel commodity prices, they'll make the investments, compete against each other, and alternative energy growth and innovation will be off and running.
The "new energy economy" is going to require some serious "aesthetic adjustments" in the population. We are going to physically see our energy choices on the landscape -- windmills, solar boiler field's 100's of acres in size, nuclear towers, new powerlines to carry it all, and so on. They will no longer be hidden in Middle Eastern deserts and diffusing into the sky as invisible CO2 emissions.
Ed-- what specifically can we do to make it happen. There is a whole nation worried about the economy and the environment, which mobilized to change history-- and it seems like we need a new challenge.
"building sector accounts for up to 48 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions"
"Improvements in the building sector can significantly reduce our energy needs "
Over what period with what programs?
It took 200 plus years to get the buildings we have.
We must not as a nation forget the role the high cost of our dependence on foreign fuel played in the demise of our automakers. The exorbitant cost of gas the past year has done serious damage to our economy and society. We need to take lessons from our mistakes.WE also need to get out from under the grip our dependence on fore gin oil has on us. Why not take some of these billions and invest in America becoming energy independent. Driving an electric car would cost the equivalent of 60 cents a gallon. The electricity could be generated by solar or wind power. Green technology would create millions of badly needed new jobs. What America needs is a green revolution. It is time for us to move forward with alternative energy. I just read Jeff Wilson's new book The Manhattan Project of 2009. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is concerned about the downward spiral of our economy and it's effect on our society and would like to see our country become energy independent!
When CO2 lags behind temperature by a few hundred years in the Ice Core record...and the present temperatures are now cooling, there is no manmade global warming.
Stop this nonsense before your ideas make all goods too expensive for people to by.
Well gee, you don't believe in Global Warming, so why bother becoming energy INDEPENDENT from countries who are our enemies? Have YOU enlisted to go fight, maybe DIE, in wars that cost us a trillion in our tax payer dollars, to secure our OIL INTERESTS?
Why bother living in a healthier cleaner environment which would save us billions in MEDICAL care.
Heavens forbid you have to pay five more bucks for you Designer Jeans and Sun Glasses.
Even if you disagree on manmade global warming, which a lot of people do (many of whom are very intelligent), there are still many valid reasons to move towards greener energy and stop our dependence on foreign oil. One major reason is national security. If we quit buying oil from the Middle East, those countries will not have money to produce nuclear weapons (Iran for example) or fund terrorist (Saudi Arabia with the 9/11 for example). So if we quit buying foreign oil, we will need to satisfy our energy needs elsewhere. Some could come from US oil and gas, but that will not satisfy all our needs. Therefore, we will need to look elsewhere. Wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear will need to all play a part. All of those are viable alternatives and should be investigated.
Oh nooooo , BIG Oil... stop the insanity ... An all encompassing energy plan WITH fossil fuels , nukese, hydro , elect, wind , solar and coal... This will get us energy independent... The Fight Against Global Warming? AAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHHHHHHH
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