With the news that the new national climate and energy bill seems to have fallen into legislative limbo for the time being, a handful of Ohioans are headed to Washington. They say they’re hoping to remind the state’s senators about what they see as the bill’s potential to improve national security and the economy. Richard Spencer, who is part of the group, is a veteran of Panama and the first Gulf War, and a member of an organization called Operation Free that supports developing more clean energy in order to eliminate dependence on foreign energy sources. “We have to look for alternative sources of energy besides fossil fuels – such as wind power, solar, that type of energy units.” Jeff Grabner is director of wind sales at Cardinal Fastener, an Ohio company that produces components for wind turbines. He sees a climate and energy bill as important for one simple reason. “To create jobs, jobs and jobs. Through clean energy we can reduce our dependency on foreign oil, we can create jobs in the U.S., and most importantly, rebuild our economy internally.” Grabner sees clean energy development as what he calls the third industrial revolution, and there’s already some serious competition. “China is spending $12.1 million an hour on clean energy. They do not want to miss this opportunity for the third industrial revolution. So in order for the United States to remain a leader, we need to act now.” A key Republican sponsor of the bill, Senator Lindsey Graham, withdrew support for it after learning that Senate Democrats planned to delay it in favor of moving up immigration reform on the calendar. The House passed sweeping climate and energy legislation last summer. Some opponents say the energy package could hurt the economy and raise energy prices. Supporters however point to a recent University of California study showing clean energy legislation could net Ohio up to 61,000 jobs, and save Ohio families an average of almost $1000 a year on home energy costs.
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