I know that in America the most important priority has been, and will be for a very long time, the economy and jobs. It is definitely a high priority to any nation, since an unemployed workforce drags down the whole economy, mass poverty sets in, and a whole slew of social problems begins to manifest itself. Yes, jobs are important. So far, in our current debate on the economy, the Republicans and denialists have done a good job divorcing better environmental stewardship from job creation and the economy.
They say that tight regulations and proposed further legislation are stifling job creation. Some even go so far as to say that current regulations are making companies lay off their workers. Remember that commercial the clean coal alliance put out. While the Democrats and those in the clean energy sector have said job growth in the alternative energy sector would boom, the Republicans have been able to gloat because job growth in that sector hasn't yet boomed. While there has been some jobs added, it hasn't been enough to make people stop and look.
We must ask ourselves why. Former President Bill Clinton was on the Daily Show and explained how if you translated the growth in the solar energy job market over in Germany to the U.S. it would provide an estimated 2.5 million jobs (visit treehugger.com for the full story). We get more sun, and we have a lot more unemployed people over here. Why aren't we making huge strides in the solar industry? I think we all know the answer. It might be more complicated than the following statement, but I think when you boil it down it does amount to this: the fossil fuel energy giants control the energy policy in this country and are not about to give any real growth room to their replacements.
They have got their hands around our elected officials, in our law books, and, worst of all, in our pocketbooks. How can we think of fighting that kind of power? Well, one sizable community has. Treehugger.com reports that Boulder, CO voted in this week's election to break free from their utility providers and start creating the kind of alternative energy sources they want to be supplied. They know that the utility company is not going to provide them with the kind of choices they want to the energy grid, so they took the plunge and broke free.
Yes, it will be a lot of work initially. Even my mind has a hard time wrapping around how they will handle this in a country that doesn't like to make things easy. How will they afford the supplies? Which alternative energies will they choose? Will all these things go into one mass grid, or will everything be separate and independent? These are all questions they have to answer and solve. But, Boulder is setting an example. They knew they couldn't wait any longer and so they took matters into their own hands.
This is an amazing thing. We should be in charge of our energy choices, and we should be allowed to have easy access to clean, renewable energy sources. Let us lend a hand and our minds to Boulder in their development of a new energy program, and let us learn from them and get this spread across the nation. The types of green jobs that are capable of being created far exceed the 2.5 million in the solar industry alone. We must create our destiny if we are to achieve it.
They say that tight regulations and proposed further legislation are stifling job creation. Some even go so far as to say that current regulations are making companies lay off their workers. Remember that commercial the clean coal alliance put out. While the Democrats and those in the clean energy sector have said job growth in the alternative energy sector would boom, the Republicans have been able to gloat because job growth in that sector hasn't yet boomed. While there has been some jobs added, it hasn't been enough to make people stop and look.
We must ask ourselves why. Former President Bill Clinton was on the Daily Show and explained how if you translated the growth in the solar energy job market over in Germany to the U.S. it would provide an estimated 2.5 million jobs (visit treehugger.com for the full story). We get more sun, and we have a lot more unemployed people over here. Why aren't we making huge strides in the solar industry? I think we all know the answer. It might be more complicated than the following statement, but I think when you boil it down it does amount to this: the fossil fuel energy giants control the energy policy in this country and are not about to give any real growth room to their replacements.
They have got their hands around our elected officials, in our law books, and, worst of all, in our pocketbooks. How can we think of fighting that kind of power? Well, one sizable community has. Treehugger.com reports that Boulder, CO voted in this week's election to break free from their utility providers and start creating the kind of alternative energy sources they want to be supplied. They know that the utility company is not going to provide them with the kind of choices they want to the energy grid, so they took the plunge and broke free.
Yes, it will be a lot of work initially. Even my mind has a hard time wrapping around how they will handle this in a country that doesn't like to make things easy. How will they afford the supplies? Which alternative energies will they choose? Will all these things go into one mass grid, or will everything be separate and independent? These are all questions they have to answer and solve. But, Boulder is setting an example. They knew they couldn't wait any longer and so they took matters into their own hands.
This is an amazing thing. We should be in charge of our energy choices, and we should be allowed to have easy access to clean, renewable energy sources. Let us lend a hand and our minds to Boulder in their development of a new energy program, and let us learn from them and get this spread across the nation. The types of green jobs that are capable of being created far exceed the 2.5 million in the solar industry alone. We must create our destiny if we are to achieve it.
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