By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Comments are flying faster than bats heading for a wind turbine in D.C. as all the “stakeholders” queue up to make their case for or against the Waxman-Markey climate legislation being marked up next week.
First, our favorite — and this is a real giggle — from U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, the fast-fossilizing Republican from south of Dallas. He’s suggested that Congress not “cap” industrial emissions per se and that it “exclude carbon dioxide from a list of federal pollutants,” according to a McClatchy-Tribune news service report.
Right. Great answer to carbon pollution.
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25 percent renewables by 2025 would bring jobs, lower electric bills and rural benefits
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Shifting the U.S. toward more renewable wind and solar power would not only generate thousands of jobs and lower consumers’ electric bills, it would create new income for rural residents and vastly reduce carbon emissions, according to a new analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The UCS released a study today showing that if utilities were required to obtain 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025 it would:
- Create nearly 300,000 new domestic jobs
- Save consumers some $65 billion in lower gas and electricity bills through 2025; up to $95 billion through 2030.
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Tags: · clean energy, Congress, Electricity, Green jobs, power generation, renewable energy standard, RES, Solar Power, U.S. Department of Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Wind Power
