ECONOMY
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gy efficiency, the expansion and extension of federal loans and loan guarantees for renewable energy production, the creation of incentives to accelerate the production and deployment of flexible-fuel and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and the modernization of the nation’s power grid. The alliance also calls for an increase in federal research, development and deployment funding to accelerate the commercial implementation of renewable energy technologies. Meanwhile, the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C., think tank and 25x’25 endorsing partner, says the United States can create 2 million jobs over two years by investing in a rapid “green” economic recovery program. In a recently issued report, the group says a $100 billion public/private investment package would create nearly four times more jobs, including a vast majority paying at least $16 per hour, than spending the same amount of money within the oil industry. It would also reduce the unemployment rate from the 5.7 percent recorded in July to 4.4 percent over two years. The report, “Green Recovery: A Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy,” which was prepared by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst under commission by the Center for American Progress, also shows that the proposed green economic recovery package would boost construction and manufacturing employment. The report says the green recovery program, at the least, can restore some 800,000 construction jobs lost over the past two years due to the housing bubble collapse. John Podesta, president and chief executive officer of the Center for American Progress, says falling home prices, foreclosures, bank failures, a weaker dollar, steep prices for gas, food and steel, and layoffs in the banking, construction and manufacturing sectors are all indicators of serious economic strain. “What’s more, evidence suggests the current downturn will continue for at least another year,” he says. “At the same time, we face a growing climate crisis that will require us to rapidly
invest in new energy infrastructure, cleaner sources of power, and more efficient use of electricity and fuels in order to cut global warming pollution.” Podesta says the time is now “for a new vision for the economic revitalization of the nation and a restoration of American leadership in the world” and “at the heart of this opportunity is clean energy, remaking the vast energy systems that power the nation and the world.” He says the economic opportunities provided by a fundamental change in the way energy is produced and consumed are vast. The $100 billion package envisioned by the center would include $50 billion for tax credits, $46 billion in direct government spending and $4 billion for federal loan guarantees. By comparison, U.S. crude oil imports during the first eight months of 2008 totaled $251 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. “The green economic recovery program addresses the immediate need to boost our struggling economy and accelerate the adoption of a comprehensive clean energy agenda,” says Podesta, noting that combining tax credits and loan guarantees for private businesses along with direct public investment spending would retrofit buildings to increase energy efficiency, expand mass transit and freight rail, construct “smart” electrical grid transmission systems, and boost wind energy, solar power and advanced biofuels. The report shows the vast majority of the 2 million new jobs would be in the same areas of employment that people already work in today, in every region and state of the country. For example, the report notes, constructing wind farms creates jobs for sheet metal workers, machinists and truck drivers, among many others. Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings through retrofitting requires roofers, insulators and building inspectors. Expanding mass transit systems employs civil engineers, electricians and dispatchers.
Investment Strategies for a Cleaner Environment On another front, The Apollo Alliance, a coalition of business, labor, envi-
ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2008