Guest viewpoint: Time to re-power America and rebuild Arizona's economy

The challenge is the economy; the opportunity is clean energy. To revive the American dream, we need to rebuild our economy on a sound foundation - one that protects our environment, puts people back to work, and rebuilds our communities.

President-elect Obama has called for an economic recovery package saying, "We have the opportunity now to create jobs all across this country in all 50 states to re-power America, to redesign how we use energy and think about how we are increasing efficiency to make our economy stronger, make us more safe, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make us competitive for decades to come - even as we save the planet."

We can re-power America and protect our environment by making public buildings more efficient and putting solar panels on their roofs, weatherizing one million U.S. homes, training more than 100,000 new workers to install clean energy systems, and increasing public transportation capacity by 10 percent a year. A study released by Environment Arizona this fall found that a $100 billion investment in clean energy infrastructure would create two million jobs with 37,234 here in Arizona.

Putting America on the path to a new clean energy economy means less global warming pollution; fewer asthma attacks from air pollution; more clean lakes and rivers for drinking water, swimming and fishing, more secure energy in the long term; and more good jobs right here at home. By making smart investments now, we can set a course to re-power America with 100 percent clean electricity, refuel America by cutting our oil dependence in half, and rebuild America with new jobs - at the same time, we can do our part to stop global warming.

What's more, clean energy can be produced right here at home, creating new jobs in all sectors of the nation's economy - including many jobs that can never be outsourced. While Arizona has the potential to meet 150 percent of its energy needs from solar, every part of the country has the opportunity to benefit from a transition to a new energy future. But to turn this trickle of green jobs into a torrent of new economic opportunities, we need to act boldly - and fast.

As Congress addresses our flagging economy with a recovery package answering President-elect Obama's call for investing in clean energy and reducing oil consumption the same interests who have always opposed a new energy economy - Big Oil, King Coal, and other polluting interests will be working hard to preserve the status quo. We urge President-elect Obama and the new Congress to keep it clean and pass a green recovery plan for a cleaner safer stronger America.

Walter Sainsbury is the Program Associate with Environment Arizona, a statewide environmental advocacy group.

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