RECOVERY PACKAGE CREATES A CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE AUTHORITY

RECOVERY PACKAGE CREATES A CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE AUTHORITY

The Recovery package, also known as The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, that President Obama signed into law on Tuesday created a Clean Energy Finance Authority (CEFA), an organization designed to lay the groundwork for a clean energy future. CEFA will oversee the aim that the President laid out in the recovery plan to double the amount of renewable energy produced within three years.

Part of the authority of CEFA will involve, overseeing and allocating funds for improvements in electrical grid. More than $11 billion of the $789 billion dollar stimulus is devoted to kick-starting upgrades in the electrical transmission that will allow for more renewable energy and better efficiency.

The Whitehouse issued a statement that additional long-term policy changes and years of planning will be required to create a national “superhighway” capable of delivering renewable energy such as wind to population centers.

Within the package there are investments to lay 3,000 miles of new transmission lines capable of carrying clean energy, along with plans to deploy 40 million “smart meters” to American homes to help increase energy efficiency.

Finally, $100 million dollars will be allocated towards workforce training programs to train line workers, who will be trained to build thousands of new transmission lines for the future.

All of this is designed as a down payment on a clean energy future. The recovery also allocates funds to increase energy efficiency in federal buildings and low income housing, as well as programs that provide energy efficiency grants to states.

Electing Obama

I'm just happy we have a President-Elect that actually wants to something about climate change. A, president who mentioned in Time Magazine, that creating a clean energy economy would be priority number one.

By Benjamin Worden

all i'm saying is we have to start working on the problem
: on how good it makes you feel to do goodness
like lennon said
only solutions
it was like the quiet whisper of the hydrogen joining together with the oxygen to fuel my vehicle
was like hearing millions of my of the future citizens on this planet thanking me for thinking of them
and making their world less poisoned
and it felt awesome
to do that for them
and everyone else on the planet here today
yeah?

White house claims executive privelege

can he do this?

Is Peak oil going to end the debate on global warming?

Experts are saying the reason for high gas prices is peak oil has set in.  Earlier this year an alternative fuels act was passed classifying liquefied coal as an alternative jet fuel.  With the problems of global warming already starting to show its effects, the question becomes will the end to cheap oil lead to a climate where energy is better for the environment of where energy has harsher effects.  

What is going to be the next generation of energy?  Will it be wind or solar or other renewables or is it more likely that we will continue to spiral down the rabbit hole of carbon emitting energy that gets dirtier and dirtier.

The next administration is going to have to decide weather or not to put a price on carbon, and which types of energy will get subsidized.  Currently, the oil and coal industry are the recipients of these subsidies.  Should there be a shift?

Or should we drill for more oil when we know the harsh effects it produces?  Bush said America needs to end its addiction to oil.  How should we end the addiction by drilling for more?

If scientist are saying the energy policy that we are heading on is mass suicide, do we need to choose cleaner alternatives?

Will the price of gas eclipse people's concerns about the environment?

The solution to global warming may be to go carbon negative.  Check out the link; carbon negative.

For any one with questions about if there is a difference between the Democrats and Republicans-here's one issue that may separate them-energy.  On February 27th the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Renewable Energy and Conservation Tax of 2008 with a vote of 236 to 182.  The split was largely along party lines.  

What was so interesting about the bill is that it repeals tax subsidies for big oil and coal to support renewable energy.  The Republicans are against the bill, and the white house has issued a letter saying they will veto it if it passes the Senate.

The issue that truly separates the democrats from republicans may turn out to be environmental and scientific in nature.  There is a scientific consensus that global warming is real, man made, and must be slowed, or by the end of the century, very few species will survive.  The Republicans consistent refusal to do anything about it, is completely irresponsible.  

This executive administration sucks.  Not only is it putting lives of Americans and Iraqis in jeopardy for bad economic and energy policy, it's putting the lives of ourselves and future generations at extreme risk.  Impeach.  Impeach. Impeach.