Obama Administration Stumps for the Clean Energy Economy

[irishbobcat]

Obama Administration Stumps for the Clean Energy Economy
Last Tuesday, President Obama went to Warren, Mich., to introduce a new program to reform and strengthen community colleges so they can better prepare Americans for the new jobs of the 21st century.
Which jobs is he talking about?
"Now is the time to create the jobs of the future by growing industries, including a new clean energy economy," President Obama said. "I want Michigan to build windmills and wind turbines and solar panels and biofuel plants and energy-efficient light bulbs... You need to weatherize. I know about that in Chicago too."
Dana Sevakis, Apollo Alliance's Michigan Coordinator, was there. She said the most inspiring moment at the event was the introduction of President Obama by Joe Lezzi, a steel worker for 20 years whose job was shipped overseas. Joe responded to the loss of his job by getting an associate's degree at Macomb Community College. "He now has a great new job in the surrounding community. It's not a clean energy job - he's working at a hospital - but it's a great success story and an example of how workers can get retrained and transition to new jobs, like those in the clean energy economy," Dana said. For more information about the Michigan Apollo Alliance, click here.
Dana attended the Obama speech with Keith Cooley, the CEO of NextEnergy, a nonprofit that brings promising alternative and renewable energy technologies to maturity and up to scale in the marketplace. NextEnergy has been key in helping Apollo Alliance make progress toward our goal of securing 100 business endorsements for Sen. Sherrod Brown's "Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Energy Technology Act (IMPACT) Act of 2009."
The IMPACT Act would establish a $30 billion revolving loan fund designed to help small and medium-sized manufacturers improve their energy efficiency, retrain workers for clean energy manufacturing jobs, and retool plants in order to expand into the clean energy supply chain. Apollo estimates that the IMPACT Act will create nearly 2.5 million jobs to support new and expanded manufacturing operations across the country.
Each new endorsement builds momentum to pass this important legislation. Please help us by clicking here to add your or your company's support.
Meanwhile, President Obama wasn't the only member of his administration on the road promoting the green economy this week. According to Van Jones, former Apollo Alliance board member and Green For All CEO who is now special adviser for green jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Obama administration officials hit Washington state, Nevada, and Minnesota this week to bring attention to clean energy projects in those states. As Van wrote in a Wednesday op-ed in the Seattle Times, "The president's central insight is straightforward: By retrofitting and improving American homes and buildings to waste less energy, we can save Americans billions of dollars in energy costs. At the same time, we can create jobs and reduce the strain on our nation's power grid. Reducing the load on our coal-fired power plants would, in turn, cut air pollution - letting everyone breathe a little easier."
We couldn't have said it better ourselves...
Legendary Civil Rights Organization NAACP Joins the Fight for Clean Energy
At the NAACP Convention this week in New York, the civil rights organization took a historic step toward a clean energy future by passing its first ever resolution addressing clean energy and climate change. Apollo Alliance President Jerome Ringo was at the convention and played a crucial role in securing the resolution's ratification.
"At its Centennial Convention, the NAACP has opened a new front in the fight for clean energy," Jerome said. "When the United States negotiates an international treaty in Copenhagen this year, Americans must be united in our commitment to curb global warming pollution. NAACP is signaling that unity will include the African American grassroots."
The resolution aligns the NAACP with groups like Apollo Alliance, Sierra Club, the AFL-CIO, and the American Wind Energy Association in support of energy and climate legislation that will create jobs, reduce pollution, and curb global warming.
We've posted a new podcast for your listening pleasure. The "Truth About Green-collar Jobs" takes on critics of the green-collar jobs movement and establishes the green jobs truths in this early stage of the clean energy revolution. Click here to listen.
To learn more about these success stories and many others that can be found in communities throughout the United States, click here.
Be sure also to keep track of the quickening pace of state and federal action on clean energy policy on our Apollo Blog and Daily Digest (you can also receive the Daily Digest in your inbox by signing up on the Daily Digest page.)
Take care and talk to you again next week.
Yours,

Sam Haswell
Communications Director
Apollo Alliance

It is time to gear up for renewable energies in the 21st century!

Dennis Spisak

Mahoning Valley Green Party

Ohio Green Party

www.ohiogreens.org
www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen.org