When it comes to America’s energy future, there’s a simple choice to be made between OLD and NEW.
House Minority Leader John Boehner and his Ohio GOP colleagues represent OLD energy. All cast their vote with OLD energy – namely Big Oil and Dirty Coal -- when they voted against the American Clean Energy and Security Act in the House of Representatives. They lost that fight and now they want a do over in the Senate, which is why they are holding this so-called “energy summit,” which features only a one sided dialogue between clean energy opponents who want to protect the status quo.
They would have you believe that the American Clean Energy and Security Act would kill jobs and raise energy rates for consumers.
Don’t believe them!
A study from the Pew Charitable Trusts, entitled “Clean Energy Economy,” examined the number of clean energy jobs that already exist in each state. The study found that more than 35,000 Ohioans are already employed in the clean energy economy.
A second study from the Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst found that the clean energy jobs plan passed by the House of Representatives would create 1.7 million net new jobs. That includes 67,356 new clean energy jobs for Ohio.
In addition to providing new jobs and a boost to the overall economy, a clean energy jobs plan would be of particular benefit to low-income Americans. A report from Green for All and the Natural Resources Defense Council, entitled “Green Prosperity,” highlights the potential for a clean energy jobs plan to fight poverty and raise living standards in communities across the U.S. It found that in the Cleveland area alone, the plan would create 10,421 new clean energy jobs—including more than 5,000 for those with a high school diploma or less. It would also cut the unemployment rate by a full percentage point in the area and help reduce living expenses.
According to a 2009 report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, climate and energy legislation as passed by the House of Representatives would save the average Ohio household $810 a year by 2030.
We’ll take your comments and deliver them to John Boehner.
