The Republican National Convention concluded last night with presidential nominee John McCain declaring these priorities for the nation’s economic, energy, and climate crisis:

“We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don’t like us very much. We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we’ll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.”

He added: “We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and to restore the health of our planet. It’s an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and we have faced greater challenges. It’s time for us to show the world again how Americans lead. This great national cause will create millions of new jobs, many in industries that will be the engine of our future prosperity; jobs that will be there when your children enter the work force.”

Though some of the details and nuances differ – with offshore drilling and nuclear power quite substantially - it also is true that the core of the energy strategies proposed by both major presidential candidates this year are steadfastly consistent.

Both Barack Obama and Senator McCain seek independence from foreign oil by promoting clean alternative fuels and next generation vehicles. Both Obama and McCain view scaling up wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and other renewable energy sources as a path to solving climate change. Both campaigns say they support developing clean ways to burn coal and safe means for developing nuclear power and offshore drilling, though emphasis each puts on fossil fuels and nuclear technology is strikingly different.

The point is that the Congressional debate on energy, which may start anew as early as next week, could produce a number of breakthroughs in clean energy development, supply, jobs, and economic opportunities. How significant those breakthroughs are depend on what lawmakers hear from us, from you, from the nation.

Earlier this year the Apollo Alliance made known its opposition to outer continental shelf drilling with this online petition. We’ll be posting many more online engagement opportunities to help make your voice heard.

Every day we look for new ways to add our increasingly influential views and expertise to the national clean energy discussion. At the moment, the Alliance is mobilizing its staff, board, allies, supporters, data, and policy ideas in several arenas.

This week Richard Eidlin, our business development specialist, was at the Republican convention in St. Paul to meet with a group of moderate GOP Congressmen and recruit support for The New Apollo Program. Richard told us that he was greeted enthusiastically and that the Alliance’s five-point, ten-year strategy to achieve a clean energy, good jobs future received careful consideration. Some of those lawmakers, he said, will support clean energy policy changes.

On Thursday, researcher Seph Petta and I joined Richard and Alliance Co-Director Kate Gordon in Washlngton for a day-long meeting with Senate staffers, federal agency officials, and a number of our Alliance members from labor and clean energy businesses. Apollo and a group of smart allies have been working this year to shape a policy agenda that makes it easier for clean energy businesses to market their products and produce skilled, living wage green-collar jobs. We’re publishing a study of the issue and recommendations in October.

A third arena is in Newark, New Jersey where Mayor Cory A. Booker and the Apollo Alliance are holding the two-day Newark’s Green Future Summit late next week. Newark and Apollo, with the help of a group of local and national leaders, are proposing a sustainability action plan that promotes business development and green-collar jobs for residents. Look for reporting on the summit starting next Friday on the Apollo Blog, and if you want to attend this free public event that features our Chairman, Phil Angelides, President Jerome Ringo, and Co-Director Kate Gordon, complete the registration as soon as possible. And please forward the invitation to friends and colleagues interested in making Newark a safer, healthier, and wealthier place to live. If you have difficulty navigating the registration process please direct your questions to Mac Lynch — lynch@apolloalliance.org — who will be happy to help.

Lastly, the Apollo Alliance is a partner in a national day of action for Green Jobs Now. On Saturday, September 27, 1Sky, Green for All and the We Campaign are joining with tens of thousands of Americans for Green Jobs Now: A Day to Build the New Economy. People of all backgrounds are organizing Green Jobs Now events, with a special focus on low-income communities and communities of color. Whether it’s an intimate house party or a giant rally, your event can keep the pressure on our leaders to build a new, clean economy that begins to heal the planet and ensures prosperity for all.

Very plainly, change is coming and the Apollo Alliance is at the forefront of this promising new economic era. Thanks so much for supporting this work and staying in touch.

– Keith Schneider

This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Green-Collar Jobs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.