150+ Companies From 45 States Descend on DC

[sfc_oliver]

Beats the hell out of what we've got.

[irishbobcat]

everyone who isn't a conservative is a communist to Dan!

And he wants to be OUR COngressman!!!!!

[Dan Moadus]

Reader's Digest version:
150 Companies descend on Washington D.C.

The Apollo Alliance (communist front group) helped recruit more than a dozen businesses to participate in the advocacy effort in D.C. in an effort that unwittingly drew a contrast between themselves and past companies that became wildly successful because people actually wanted their products.

The demonstration which was designed to draw government support of so called "green technologies" instead only served to bring to people's attention the fact that Bill Gates, and countless other American entrepreneurs never had to beg for subsidies to make the products they invented household name brands.

[irishbobcat]

150+ Companies From 45 States Descend on DC
On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, more than 150 businesses from 45 states sent representatives to Washington, D.C., to advocate for comprehensive climate and energy policies that will create millions of new jobs, cut carbon pollution, restore America's competitiveness, and increase our economic and national security. The Apollo Alliance helped recruit more than a dozen businesses to participate in the advocacy effort, including SunRise Solar of Indiana, Infinia of Washington, Gamesa of Pennsylvania and others.
"Comprehensive climate legislation will benefit our planet and economy and, if done right, signal the rebirth of American manufacturing," said Bill Keith, founder and CEO of Sunrise Solar. "With clean energy demand on the rise, domestic manufacturers need a level playing field so we can ensure that American workers are building the parts and systems of the clean energy economy."
Business leaders met with Obama administration officials like Energy Secretary Steven Chu as well as dozens of Senators and their staff members. The event was organized by We Can Lead, a project of the Clean Economy Network and Ceres' Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), and supported by many other organizations, including the Apollo Alliance.
The business advocacy days were covered by Reuters, The New York Times website and many local newspapers.
"A key question is whether or not the U.S. is a worldwide leader in the next great global industry, green technologies. We are not today," said John Doerr, a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "The energy and climate legislation is crucial if we are to lead in energy technology the way we did in Internet technologies."
Midwest Governors Announce Regional Clean Energy Plans
At the Midwest Governors Association Jobs and Energy Forum this week, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle presented several documents that reflect a renewed effort by Midwestern states to work together as a region to strengthen the clean energy economy. The governors see the clean energy economy as creating an "enormous opportunity for the Midwest to build on its historic strengths and reclaim its position as a manufacturing powerhouse and a place of innovation and meaningful work."
"Clean energy is an opportunity that the Midwest is capitalizing on as states continue to be leaders in driving economic growth and innovation," Granholm told the Michigan News. "We are focused on ways to create jobs in this new energy economy, both in Michigan and across the Midwest."
In the Midwestern Energy Infrastructure Accord, the governors laid out their plans to develop a robust clean energy infrastructure, which include:
·   Expanding electric transmission capacity in support of renewable energy development and distributed generation.
·   Adopting smart grid technologies and capabilities.
·   Building out carbon capture and storage at a commercial scale.
·   Deploying refueling systems for biofuels and other advanced low-carbon transportation fuels.
The governors' Platform for Creating and Retaining Midwestern Jobs in the New Energy Economy calls for the adoption and alignment of energy, economic and workforce policies that position the region to compete with and lead other regions in creating and retaining jobs in the new energy economy. It also calls for increased and optimized public- and private-sector investments in education, training, manufacturing and other areas that support jobs and career opportunities in clean energy.
To read the Infrastructure Accord, Jobs Platform and other documents from the MWG Association Jobs and Energy Forum, click here.
In Other News...
*Since Northern California utility company PG&E announced that it would withdraw from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of the Chamber's extreme position on climate change, several more major businesses have joined in what has become an exodus from the Chamber. Exelon, one of the nation's largest utilities, announced its withdrawal from the Chamber on Sept. 28; the next day, Nike announced that it would resign its position on the Chamber's board of directors (though it will maintain its membership). This week, computer giant Apple declared that "because the Chamber's position [on climate change] differs so sharply with Apple's, we have decided to resign our membership effective immediately." Tune in next week to see which companies add their names to this list.
*On Nov. 9 - 12 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, SMART (Sustainable Mobility & Accessibility Research & Transformation) will be holding its annual Sustainable Urban Mobility and Accessibility Summit. This year's summit, MOVING MINDS: The Next Transportation Infrastructure, will bring researchers together with business leaders, entrepreneurs, practitioners and policy makers from around the world to understand the cultural, psychological, and aspirational underpinnings of our relationship to transportation (for both users and leaders), and responding with innovative systems, policies and business models that address these dimensions sustainably, equitably and compellingly. Click here for more information about the conference.
*Check out Apollo's new clean energy success stories!
Former Ford Plant Renewed as a Renewable Energy Manufacturer reports on Ford Motor Company's vacant Wixom, Mich., plant, which is slated to be converted to a solar and battery power manufacturing center. The 52-year-old factory will be retooled to house three clean energy manufacturers, Clairvoyant Energy of California, Xtreme Power of Texas and the Swiss company Oerlikon Solar, and the retooling is expected to create more than 4,000 quality green-collar jobs.
Green Job Training Dawns at Delta College describes a partnership between three mid-Michigan companies, Dow Chemical, Dow Corning and Hemlock Semiconductor, which have expanded into the field of solar photovoltaics; Delta College, a community college; and Michigan Works!, a local workforce development agency. They've jointly created a new training program for Chemical Process Technologists, who are in high demand by local solar photovoltaic companies.

We need to work on bringing more green jobs to America!
Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Valey Green Party
Ohio Green Party
www.ohiogreens.org
www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen/