A message from Dave Boundy, Campaign Manager for Repower America
If our future is worth fighting for, 2010 is the time to fight.
Thousands of you have already shared your New Year’s resolution to work for clean energy and climate protection in 2010 on the Repower America Wall. But to capitalize on the progress we’ve made in the past year, we need to make our statement of resolve even more powerful.
We have to come out of the gate in 2010 by sending a clear message — that the vast majority of Americans are prepared to press our leaders for immediate action to solve the climate crisis.
Georganna, a supporter from St. Louis, has posted a video sharing her resolve. Will you start the New Year by making a personal commitment to fight for clean energy and climate in 2010?
Quite simply — clean energy will not happen unless we make it happen. Our leaders have already waited far too long to take action. And the special interests will continue to do everything in their power to promote inaction, block reform and drown out the voices for change.
High-priced lobbying and special interest smear campaigns are only going to become more intense in 2010. But Repower America is ready, and The Wall is our most powerful tool for change. The more of you that are standing with us, the more effective we will be.
Now is the time to dig in, to show our resolve, and to press forward. Now is the time to fight for comprehensive clean energy and climate policies — to make 2010 — and the 40th anniversary of Earth Day — the year when our clean energy future finally took off.
Show your resolve. Watch the video and resolve for clean energy in 2010.
It is pretty simple. The quickest way to create jobs and move to clean energy is to do what Germany and other countries have done and proven to work. Do a Feed In Tariff (FIT) nationally, where the homeowner or small business can install solar or wind power and the utilities must purchase the power at 2 or three times the “market” rate. The homeowner can then make a profit and pay off the loan. Everywhere this has been tried it has worked. The so-called “market rate does not include the cleanup costs of dirty energy – coal, oil, nuclear etc, all which have not only been subsidized, but our taxes end up paying for the costs of cleanup, so we pay anyway. Think Superfund:
“Where does the (Superfund) money come from?
At one time, the money for all government-led cleanups came from a tax on polluters, but this tax expired in 1995. The $3.8 billion that had accumulated in the trust fund at its peak ran dry in 2003. Currently, fund-led cleanups are paid for with taxpayer money and any money recovered from PRPs.”
This fact alone makes the increased rate reasonable, because alternative energy has no cleanup costs. Another plus is decentralizing the electric producers which costs less in infrastructure costs.
For more info read my essay at http://ukiahcommunityblog.wordpress.com/.