Environment America applauded the Senate’s vote today to put America one step further down the path to a clean energy economy. The Senate bill contains at least $70 billion in funding for wind, solar, energy efficiency and public transit. Environment America urged Congress to cut pollution, save oil and create jobs by including the best clean energy, energy efficiency, and public transit provisions from both the House and Senate bills in the final legislation.
“Clean energy should be the workhorse of our economic recovery. By harnessing the sun and wind, using energy more efficiently, and improving public transportation, America can cut more pollution, save more oil, and create more jobs faster than we could by investing in the dirty energy technologies of the past,” said Environment America Washington DC Office Director Anna Aurilio.
The House bill invests $80 billion in clean energy, energy efficiency and public transit. One program, which is among President Obama’s top priorities, would put Americans to work weatherizing two million homes. The House’s $6.2 billion in funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program would reduce global warming pollution by 12 million tons per year, provide at least $2.72 in economic benefits for every dollar invested, and create 465,000 new jobs over two years. The Senate bill contains less funding for weatherization and transit than the House bill and includes undesirable loan guarantees for nuclear and coal plants, but it includes a beneficial renewable energy manufacturing tax credit, according to the group.
The group highlighted the job creation benefits of clean energy and public transit investments. According to analysis by the Earth Policy Institute, retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency could create 6.6 times more jobs than the same investment in nuclear power and 7.8 times more jobs than the same investment in coal power. A study by University of Massachusetts economists last fall found that investing in clean energy and green infrastructure can create four times as many jobs as a comparable investment in the oil industry and more jobs, even, than consumer rebates.
At a town hall yesterday in Elkhart, Indiana, President Obama said: “The country that figures out how to make cheaper energy that’s also clean, that country is going to win the economic competition of the future.” Environment America concurs. “The green jobs in the economic recovery bill will benefit every American whether it’s directly through a job, through more secure energy, or because a clean energy economy means a healthier environment for us all,” concluded Aurilio.
