What are we doing about our Emissions?

Right now, there seems to be a lot of talk within political circles about renewable energy, and rightfully so. It seems that America finally realizes just how far behind we have fallen in relation to other industrialized nations when it comes to using renewable energy. Understanding the political aspect of renewable energy is they key to advancing America’s drive toward a Green economy. Many of the representatives in Congress and the Senate oppose the push toward renewable energy claiming that jobs will be lost in the process and the result will actually place our economy further into recession. Ohio Republican Representative John Boehner gives his view of what would happen if America went Green.

Many on the Republican side think that” going green” means sending jobs overseas and sending our country further into recession. This could not be further from the truth. Yes, going green means that jobs will be lost from many industries, but what some fail to recognize is the creation of jobs within renewable energy markets. Engineers that once worked in power plants, could now become educated on solar, wind, hydroelectric, and thermal technologies. There is great potential for more jobs to be created than the amount that is lost.

On the construction side of things, the industry is at a low point, to say the least. Many construction workers are picking up new trades to compensate for the lack of work. Why not learn something in any of the renewable energy industries? Renewable energy really is the future of America… much of the rest of the industrialized world is miles ahead of the U.S. and it is tough sometimes to see an industrial giant like the U.S. fall so far behind. China, Spain, and Germany, just to name a few, have goals set for the future to lower their overall carbon emission standards and have already met several of them. This is something that the U.S. needs to do, and that many within Congress are pressing for.

Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer have introduced to the senate S. 1733, a 1,719 page Act that would ultimately lower carbon emissions by a substantial amount. Click on the link and go to the bottom of the page for the bill. There are some promising things packaged within this act. This is much like the Waxman- Markey bill (H.R.2454)  that has passed the House and is waiting in the Senate. The Kerry Boxer bill is different in that it has much stricter regulations on the reductions of carbon emissions. Highlighted are a few points. S.1733 includes:

• Based on the 2005 carbon emissions, we would have to cut emissions by 20% by 2025, 32% by 2030, and 83% by 2050
• A proposed Cap and Trade program that would allow companies to purchase Carbon Credits relative to their carbon output, bank, sell or trade unused credits, and discipline companies who exceed the maximum carbon emissions allotted for their size business.
• Requires that the EPA would be the regulator of the emission standards.
• Also, the bill regulates the emission standards on many types of engines
• Implements federal grants for the retrofit of businesses and educational facilities to a more energy efficient standard.

Becoming less dependent on foreign oil and fossil fuels will greatly benefit our country, because we would not be held subject to price gouging by the oil companies. When most other businesses were declining, oil companies boomed during the recession, simply because they knew they could charge what they wanted for their oil. Why not become dependent on a renewable type of energy? America should become dependent on a kind of energy that would create no emission, never run out, and would require very little maintenance. It would be great to see our country as one that is dependent on no other but itself. Hopefully, this is what the future of what our country will look like.