Leaders in labor, environment, policy arenas, local, state and federal government will gather this week in Pittsburgh for the "Good Jobs Green Jobs" conference to get the word out about job creation resulting from a robust investment in renewable energy across the country.
Independent studies have found that requiring a significant portion of our country’s electricity to come from clean, renewable, home-grown sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass, could create as many as 820,000 new jobs by 2020. Such jobs include solar panel installation, wind turbine manufacturing, and designing and constructing facilities to turn sources created by good old Mother Nature into electricity that can power our homes and offices. By training Americans to meet the needs of a cleaner energy future, we can rejuvenate the work force, create a stronger economy and respond to increasing energy needs.
But here’s where you come in: renewable energy industries could suffer if Congress does not extend clean energy tax incentives past their current expiration date of January 1, 2009. As private investors are now making their financial decisions for next year, Congress must pass these incentives very soon to sustain the booming clean energy industries.
The House has already voted to extend these incentives: now the Senate must step up to the plate to bring them across the finish line. Please take a moment to write your Senators and urge them to support the extension of clean energy tax incentives when they reach the Senate floor in the next few weeks.
The Hotline, the Sierra Club's global warming e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on the fight to stop global warming. Every two weeks, you will receive an email with the information and tools to put real global warming solutions to work. |