Repower America with Clean Energy to Rebuild our Economy
Environment America
Washington, DC − Environment America joined a coalition of national environmental groups today to recommend that President-elect Obama and the new Congress make critical investments in the clean energy and green infrastructure that will protect the environment and rebuild the American economy.
In a statement Tuesday, President-elect Obama said, “We have the opportunity now to create jobs all across this country in all 50 states to repower America, to redesign how we use energy and think about how we are increasing efficiency to make our economy stronger, make us more safe, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make us competitive for decades to come – even as we save the planet.”
“Putting America on the path to a new clean energy economy means more secure energy in the long term; less global warming pollution; fewer asthma attacks from air pollution; more clean lakes and rivers for drinking water, swimming and fishing, and more good jobs right here at home,” said Anna Aurilio, director of the Washington DC office of Environment America.
Environment America recommended $142 billion dollars in investments for clean, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and smart transportation that would create millions of jobs. Among the recommendations are weatherizing one million U.S. homes, training more than 100,000 new workers to install clean energy systems and increasing public transportation capacity by 10 percent a year. Several of the recommendations would help President-elect Obama fulfill his promise to make public buildings more energy efficient, and install solar panels on their roofs.
“President-elect Obama is right to embrace the clean energy opportunity in our economic challenge,” continued Aurilio. “By making smart investments now, we can set a course to repower America with 100 percent clean electricity, refuel America by cutting our oil dependence in half, and rebuild America with 5 million new jobs − at the same time, we can do our part to stop global warming.”
Environment America also warned that Big Oil, King Coal, the road-builders and other polluting interests will be lobbying for a piece of any economic recovery program. “We call on President-elect Obama and the new Congress to keep it clean and pass a green recovery plan for a cleaner safer stronger America,” concluded Aurilio.
Environment America’s joint proposal with a coalition of 16 other environment and conservation groups is posted at www.saveourenvironment.org.
