Green Affordable Housing in Indian Country
Green Affordable Housing in Indian Country is a “hands-on” green-construction training program involving Native American tribes in the upper Midwest, architects and landscape architects, builders and contractors, and students and faculty from the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The project is oriented toward community development on Indian reservations through technology transfer and job skills training in sustainable housing construction techniques based on natural systems, organic materials, local labor, and energy efficiency. Read more
Administration to Make Clean Energy Key Part of Economic Recovery Strategy
SAN FRANCISCO – Phil Angelides, chairman of the Apollo Alliance, today released the following statement commending President Obama’s plan to accelerate U.S. job creation and stimulate economic growth:
“The Apollo Alliance applauds the president’s continued focus on creating jobs through investments in clean and efficient energy systems and improvements to the nation’s aging transportation infrastructure.
“America is facing twin crises of economic instability and a global clean energy race that is quickly leaving us behind. Fortunately, the president understands that these crises can also be opportunities. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was a significant down payment on America’s clean energy future, but we must continue to drive short-term investment and job creation in efficiency and renewables in ways that leverage private capital over the long term and lay the foundation for a stronger, more sustainable U.S. economy.
“The president’s proposed efficiency retrofit incentives have the potential to provide a strong stimulus for immediate job creation, as does his plan to expand oversubscribed, successful Recovery Act programs. Going forward, we encourage the administration to pair these efforts with the creation of a federal financing authority that provides credit enhancement to innovative energy efficiency and renewable installation models.
“We commend the president’s focus on creating clean energy manufacturing jobs through the expansion of industrial energy efficiency programs and tax incentives for clean energy manufacturing facilities. Currently, 70 percent of America’s clean energy systems are manufactured abroad, which means valuable, well-paying jobs that should be filled by American workers are instead going overseas. We need to turn that ship around.
“We encourage the president and Congress to make a long-term commitment to the country’s clean energy manufacturing sector. By including the provisions of the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology Act of 2009 in any jobs creation package, we can ensure that America’s manufacturers have the funds they need to expand into the global clean energy marketplace and become more energy efficient.”
During last week’s White House Jobs Summit, the Apollo Alliance released a clean energy investment plan that, if enacted, would create up to 1.2 million domestic jobs while increasing U.S. energy security and climate stability. The 5-point plan, meant for inclusion in a larger Congressional and administration strategy to spur economic recovery and create jobs, focused on several areas the president identified as part of his short-term job growth plan, including transportation infrastructure, energy efficiency and renewables, and domestic clean energy manufacturing.
Senate Begins Climate Bill Hearings
 |
| Please advance to the 65:26 mark in the video to hear Kate’s testimony |
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee began hearings on the Kerry-Boxer climate change bill this week. On Wednesday, Apollo Alliance Senior Policy Adviser Kate Gordon testified before the committee on how a strong, comprehensive energy and jobs bill can bolster the American economy, usher in a new era of sustainable growth, and create millions of high quality jobs
Economic Development: The Missing Link in a National Clean Energy Policy
There was a certain irony in the U.S. decision to hold the recent G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, Penn., to show off the former steel town’s success at creating green jobs. Pittsburgh transformed itself from a polluted and declining industrial metropolis into a clean and booming green one by crafting deliberate economic development policies to support the growth of clean energy industries. The irony is that the United States—unlike most other G20 members—still needs a comprehensive national clean energy economic development policy. Read more
Clean Energy Incentives Allow Simonton Windows to Rehire 400 Employees
Simonton Windows, a producer of vinyl windows and doors, announced in early August that it had extended offers to rehire all 402 seasonal and full-time workers—263 in West Virginia and 139 in Illinois—who were laid off by the company last winter, and that it is set to hire 55 additional employees in the near future. Read more
American-made Streetcars: Portland Company Rebuilds Lost Industry
United Streetcar, a union company in Portland, Ore., and wholly owned subsidiary of Oregon Iron Works, has built the first American-made streetcar in over half a century, with the help of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. United Streetcar has a deal in place to build six streetcars for the city and is on the verge of signing a $26 million contract to build seven more for Tucson, Ariz. Read more
HECK, Let’s Retrofit Some Homes
 |
|
Volunteer receives weatherization materials. |
For the last two autumns, students from the University of Buffalo, Daemen College, and Nichols School stood side-by-side with union workers and community members to caulk, seal and insulate homes in Buffalo, New York. The all-volunteer energy efficiency crews are part of a project started by Frank Hotchkiss, chairman of the Western New York Apollo Alliance and New York State Apollo steering committee member. Read more
Lessons from the Gainesville Feed-In Tariff Program
At the start of the 20th century, the city of Gainesville, Fla., installed modern municipal water, electricity and sewer systems, which made it an attractive location for the University of Florida and helped it become a major educational and cultural hub in the state. Now, more than 100 years later, Gainesville is once again taking bold steps, this time to become a national clean energy pioneer. Read more
Chattanooga Choo-Choo Chugs Off The Grid
Chattanooga, TN - Twenty years ago, under popular mayor Gene Roberts, Chattanooga launched an effort to rejuvenate its deteriorating downtown. In 1992, the city opened what at the time was the world’s largest freshwater aquarium. That same year, the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) opened an electric transit vehicle (ETV) shuttle service with the aim of bringing people – and businesses – back downtown. Read more
“Lean and Green” Manufacturing Program Helps Washington’s Small Manufacturers Reduce Energy Use and Waste
When Nature’s Path Foods, an organic cereal manufacturer with a facility in Blaine, Wash., decided that being a green company meant going beyond using organic ingredients in its food, it wasn’t sure where to turn to find out how to green its manufacturing processes. Read more
