U.S. Urged to Back $500 Billion for ‘Green’ Buildings (Update1)

[sfc_oliver]

No problem Dan, They can simply cut another 500 billion from Medicare and Medicaid. They have already showed they could care less.

[Dan Moadus]

Just two years ago, the entire budget for the Federal Government was about 1.5 trillion dollars. Can you imagine the outright stupidity of someone wanting to spend fully one third of the Federal Budget on making buildings "green". And then to have the unmitigated nerve to say that the money would be a combination of public and private funds. Please, Dennis, don't insult our intelligence. What private money will be available to pay to make buildings "green", and why?

These people have lost their minds. They want to spend $500 billion a year on health care and now they want to spend another $500 billion on building renovations.

[irishbobcat]

U.S. Urged to Back $500 Billion for 'Green' Buildings (Update1)

By Kim Chipman
Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama should back a $500 billion plan to make U.S. buildings more energy-efficient because it would aid the economic recovery, increase energy security and reduce global warming, two policy groups said.
The plan would increase the energy efficiency of 40 percent of commercial and residential buildings by 2020, generating about 625,000 full-time jobs, and saving families $300 to $1,200 a year in energy costs, according to the proposal today by the Center for American Progress, a research group that advises Democrats, and the Energy Future Coalition, a nonpartisan alliance.
"Rapidly improving the efficiency of our existing buildings is essential," the Washington-based groups said. The $500 billion would come from a combination of public and private funds, according to the report released today.
The push to retrofit buildings, which consume 70 percent of all U.S. electricity and emit 40 percent of the nation's greenhouse gases, will be discussed today at an energy conference in Las Vegas. Former President Bill Clinton, investor T. Boone Pickens, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Vice President Al Gore are among scheduled participants.
The event is co-sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and the Center for American Progress. Democrats and the Obama administration are seeking enough support in Congress to win passage of energy and climate change legislation.
Climate Change
Legislation to control climate change by limiting heat- trapping pollution and creating a trading system for pollution permits was approved by the House of Representatives, 219-212, in June. The bill calls for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from 2005 levels by 17 percent by 2020, and 83 percent by mid- century.
The legislation could help spur the retrofitting of homes and businesses -- a potential "linchpin" for the American economy -- by ensuring easier access to financing and helping businesses meet the demand for retrofits, according to today's report.
"National policy leadership is required immediately to launch a nationwide energy-efficient retrofit industry," according to the report. Retrofitting standards are needed to "improve consumer confidence" that energy savings are being properly measured and verified, the report said.

Go Green ! Save the Economy and Save America!

Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Valley Green Party
Ohio Green Party

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