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Mission


Our Mission

The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, cut the carbon emissions that are destabilizing our climate, and expand opportunities for American businesses and workers.

Inspired by the vision and technological achievements of the Apollo space program, we promote policies and initiatives to speed investment in clean energy technology and energy efficiency, put millions of Americans to work in a new generation of well-paid, green collar jobs, and make America a global leader in clean energy products and services.

The First Years (2004-2007)

The Apollo Alliance was conceived in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack by Dan Carol, a policy specialist and consultant, who turned to Joel Rogers of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy and Bob Borosage, of the Institute for America’s Future. The three recruited Bracken Hendricks, now a senior fellow at the Center For American Progress, to be the founding executive director with the goal of unifying a broad-based constituency behind a first-of-its kind economic strategy. The organization set out to convince the United States that investments in clean energy technology and sustainable infrastructure would reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and create millions of good jobs in America’s unfolding clean energy economy. 

Harkening back to President Kennedy’s visionary call to meet the challenge of the Sputnik launch with an aggressive national commitment to landing the first man on the Moon within the decade, the Apollo Alliance spoke – and continues to speak — directly to the core values we share as Americans: our can-do spirit, our inherent optimism, and the pride we feel (or want to feel) about our country’s place in the world. The subtext is clear: we did it before, we can do it again. This is America, the richest, most technologically advanced and industrious country in the world. If anyone can do it, we can do it. And we will.

Not surprisingly, the Apollo message captured the imagination of people throughout our country. Soon the organization’s phone lines were buzzing with calls from political leaders of all stripes wanting to find out what they could do in their states, in their cities, and at the national level to advance Apollo’s clean energy agenda. In the months and years that followed, Apollo:

  • Released New Energy for America, an economic analysis of our Ten-Point Plan documenting how the tax credits and investments we were proposing would create 3.3 million new, high-wage jobs in manufacturing, construction, transportation, high tech, and the public sector, while reducing dependence on foreign oil and cleaning the air. The report, written under the direction of Nobel Prize nominee Dr. Ray Perryman, received positive editorial comment in the Washington Post, and became the centerpiece of Apollo’s campaign to promote the job creation impacts of our investment agenda (2004-5);
  • Developed and distributed our three New Energy guides outlining specific strategies states, cities and campuses can pursue to reduce oil consumption, promote renewable power, encourage smart growth, and make buildings more efficient. The guides highlight proven strategies being undertaken in one or more parts of America (2005-6);
  • Established Apollo coalitions in ten states and four cities to promote policy change consistent with our Ten-Point Plan. Apollo coalitions helped gain approval for: renewable energy standards in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Hawaii, and Wisconsin; renewable fuels standards in Washington and Oregon; appliance efficiency standards in Washington, Oregon and Vermont; building retrofit programs in New York City, Los Angeles, Colorado, and Milwaukee; climate change legislation in California and Vermont; new clean energy funds and/or tax credits in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Wisconsin and New York City; and green collar job training programs in Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles (2005-7);
  • Recruited Jerome Ringo as Apollo President to drive our message into the national political debate. Over the past two years, Jerome has spoken to over 75 influential audiences around America including the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Congressional Black Caucus, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the United Nations Trade Union Assembly, and US Green Building Council. Jerome also appeared in Al Gore’s film, “An Inconvenient Truth” (2005-7);
  • Earned endorsements from an impressive diversity of organizations and businesses including the American Council on Renewable Energy, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the AFL-CIO, the United Steelworkers, the Natural Resources Defense Council, ACORN, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Green for All, 25×25, and the American Wind Energy Association, among many others. 
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