MoveOn.org continues its environmental advocacy work, now with a public call to petition congress on this week’s vote on H.R. 969. The bill requires utilities to increase the percentage of electricity produced from wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar energy sources. If it passes, utilities nationwide will produce 20% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. This bill alone will reduce 511 million tons of global warming pollution and would be like taking 37 million cars off the road. The Union of Concerned Scientists provided details in February when the bill was first introduced. We suspect passage of this bill into law would also set a good precedent for more legislation calling for even further increases in the use of renewables, or perhaps even one day for the adoption of the direct current (DC) standard which suffers low voltage losses over long distances.

According to MoveOn.org, right now the U.S. gets only 2% of its electricity from clean energy sources like solar and wind and it says that big oil and coal are fighting the bill hard, because it would undercut their stranglehold on the economy:

Congress must act now to move our country toward a clean energy economy based on solar and wind power by voting yes on H.R. 969, the Federal Renewable Energy Standards Act.

Over twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have adopted similar requirements and because the bill allows utilities around the country to buy and sell extra renewable energy they produce, competition will increase thereby lowering prices. The San Antonio Express-News says of the bill:

Whether one believes in global warming or not, taking steps to reduce our dependence on non-renewable fuels like oil makes sense. It will result in a cleaner, healthier environment for future generations, wean the nation slowly off its dependence on oil and save consumers millions in energy costs.

MoveOn.org

Sources

“Cashing in on clean energy”, Union of Concerned Scientists (report), 2007

San Antonio Express-News