Your Green Tip: State of the Energy Bill
Posted By Dee Stofko on July 2, 2010
In President Obama’s address from the Oval Office on Tuesday, June 15th, he recognized that American presidents have been attempting to wean the country from its dependence on foreign oil for over 30 years. With the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico and the consequent pollution of the Gulf waters by roughly 4 million barrels of oil over the past 64 days, now is as good a time as ever to get moving in the right direction. Polls are showing that up to 63% of the American people support a strong energy bill now. So what is the status of the “American Power Act?”
The “American Power Act” is John Kerry and Joe Lieberman’s bill that has passed the House and is currently being debated in the Senate. Like the healthcare reform bill that passed a few months ago, many liberal Americans are opposing this clean energy legislation because it includes support for nuclear power, oil drilling and coal mining. Yet even with these concessions, not one Republican is likely to vote for the bill. In fact they have filibustered it which means 60 votes are required to pass it instead of a simple majority.
According to the EPA passing the Act would “…create 440,000 jobs a year through 2020 and 540,000 jobs a year through 2030 while saving families $35/year on utility bills. And it would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 45%.”
The reason the Republicans are adamantly against the bill is its inclusion of a cap on carbon emissions. But that cap is what makes the bill successful. With the cap in place, energy that emits the largest amount of carbon, like coal and fossil fuels, becomes more expensive. This drives the quest for cleaner, greener energy while creating jobs and economic activity.
In my opinion, the House should make it a priority to pass the “American Power Act” despite its flaws. It should use every means possible (including reconciliation that helped pass the healthcare reform bill) to achieve this goal. The American people understand the need to fix the problem of our dependence on foreign oil. The time is right. We can let our representatives know that unless they get something done this summer, we will vote new members to congress in the fall who will take our views into consideration. And everyone should know that if the Republicans gain power, America won’t be free of its oil dependence anytime soon.
For further information, see: http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/2010/06/21/americans-are-ready-for-a-climate-bill/
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