In This Issue:
Court stops sales, planting of genetically engineered alfalfa
Healthy markets lead to healthy communities
House, Senate block liquid coal subsidies
Latest mad cow problems show need for labeling
Legislation would protect landowners
Legislatures move oil and gas reform bills
Legislature, livestock and trade
Holding animal factories accountable
House renewable energy bill introduced
WORC develops biofuel recommendations
House renewable energy bill introduced
Representative Tom Udall (D-NM) is the lead sponsor of this year’s House “Renewable Electricity Standard” or RES bill. Udall’s bill, HR 969, would require utilities to buy or generate at least 20 percent of their electricity from clean, renewable sources by 2020.|
Urge your representative to support renewable energy Ask your Representative to
cosponsor this important bill today: |
HR 969 would create a large and growing market for clean and renewable energy, increasing America’s total renewable power capacity nine times over 2005 levels—from about 20,000 megawatts in 2005 to 180,000 megawatts by 2020.
An analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that a 20 percent national RES will:
- Create 355,000 new high-paying jobs in manufacturing,
construction, operation, maintenance and other industries—nearly
twice as many jobs as generating the same amount of electricity from
fossil fuels would create. Many of these jobs would be in rural areas
where renewable energy generating facilities would be located.
- Spur $72.6 billion in new capital investment,
$16.2 billion in income to farmers, ranchers and rural landowners for
biomass production and wind power land lease payments, and $5 billion
in new local tax revenues.
- Increase competition in the marketplace, resulting
in the gradual lowering of natural gas and electricity prices, and saving
residential, commercial and industrial consumers $49.1 billion on their
utility bills by 2020.
- Reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the main
cause of global warming, by 15 percent or 434 million metric tons by
2020—the equivalent of taking nearly 71 million cars off the road
or planting 104 million acres of trees.