With the first meaningful improvement in gas mileage standards in a
generation, Congress took a significant step toward a new energy future
this month.
However, despite the passage of long overdue fuel
efficiency standards, much is still to be done. CAFE (corporate average
fuel economy) standards are merely the beginning of what this country
must do to meet our vast energy challenges. If we're serious about
America's transition to a clean energy economy and solving global
warming, we can't stop now. We need more renewable energy. We need to
make our nation more energy efficient with high performance homes and
workplaces.
The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto only underscores the need for America to embrace a new
energy paradigm by cutting our energy consumption from volatile foreign
sources and beginning to produce clean, renewable energy at home.
The
next milestone in the journey toward clean energy must include making a
national commitment to renewable energy. And, the best way to put
America on a path to clean, homegrown, renewable energy is one that is
simple and has proven remarkably effective: Setting a nationwide
minimum standard for renewable electricity (RES).
Congress just
missed a golden opportunity to jumpstart renewable energy in America by
including a renewable electricity standard in this energy bill.
Unfortunately, the threat of a presidential veto and a Republican-led
filibuster fueled by the coal industry and the utilities forced the
Senate to drop a provision that had been passed by the House of
Representatives to require that utilities provide 15 percent of their
power from renewable resources.
Opposition to this commonsense
measure is a puzzle. The public overwhelmingly supports it. A recent
Zogby poll showed that more than 80 percent of Americans believe that
the federal government should follow the lead of the 25 states that now
require at least some of their electricity come from renewable sources
such as wind and solar.
As governor of Texas, George Bush signed
a renewable electricity standard that has made Texas the nation's
leader in wind energy development. The U.S. Senate has passed such a
measure three times. The House has passed it twice this year.
Governors,
mayors, labor unions, farmers, investors and the faith community all
have united to support a national renewable electricity standard
because it will create jobs, save consumers money, revitalize rural
communities and make significant cuts in global warming pollution.
A
recent study by the Renewable Energy Policy Project for the United
Steelworkers showed that a 15-20 percent renewable standard has the
potential of creating 850,000 new jobs in component part manufacturing
alone.
Thanks to Texas' renewable energy standard, clean
renewable energy will generate 1,089 megawatts of renewable energy by
the end of 2007, by far the most of any state in America. This is
enough to power tens of thousands of homes. These projects will also
avoid the use of 1.1 million gallons of water and avert nearly 4.5
million metric tons of global warming pollution.
Texas, along
with every other state in the country, would benefit greatly from a
national renewables standard. An analysis by the Union of Concerned
Scientists found that a federal renewables standard would create more
than 17,000 clean energy jobs in Texas, and save $1.75 billion through
lower energy bills by 2020.
America's skilled work force and the
same venture capitalists and entrepreneurs who helped revolutionize
telecommunications and the Internet are lining up to usher in the green
energy boom. But the clean energy revolution won't happen on its own.
In order to realize the full potential of our renewable energy
resources, the United States needs strong and consistent public policy
to support these new economies.
There could be no more critical
time for a new, clean energy future. A growing dependence on fossil
fuels threatens our nation's security. The impacts of global warming
are showing up in our back yards. We need bold action from Washington.
After
decades of federal inaction on fuel economy, Congress has taken action.
We shouldn't stop there. The next step on our journey toward a new
energy future must be to follow the leaders in the 25 states that are
already reaping the rewards of clean renewable energy. The president
should sign the bill that is on his desk and Congress should continue
its work to pass a national renewable electricity standard.
Karabias is a federal field associate for the nonprofit citizens group Environment Texas (www.environmenttexas.org ).
