Anne McCollister of Nebraska IPL wrote this letter to the editor below.
Omaha World Herald, June 20, 2009
“President Obama’s scientific and technology team released a final report (globalchange.gov) on June 16 titled, “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States” that breaks down the country into geographical regions to show how specific economic sectors, such as agriculture in the Great Plains, will have difficulty adapting to the negative effects of global climate change occurring now and in the future.
Mainline religious organizations in Nebraska are organizing around what we see as the greatest moral issue of our time with a deep sense of optimism, believing that our best days are upon us as we join in community with others to take positive first steps to become wise energy consumers, never forgetting that the big reward for wise, lower energy use is a lower energy bill. too.
Not wasting anything, energy included, is a conservative ethic Nebraskans trust.
We now recognize how precious energy fuel is, and we will insulate our walls and attics, replace our windows, buy Energy Star appliances, reduce unnecessary energy use, walk more, put solar panels on our roofs and Smart Grid technology in our homes in a spirit of almost patriotic unity as we invest in our energy self-reliance.
As we begin to invest in ourselves, we will also directly contribute to a rebound in Nebraska’s economy, stimulating a whole new and emerging economic sector for us. According to the latest Pew Charitable Trusts survey (pewtrusts.org) titled, “The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Business and Investments across America” ‘jobs in the emerging clean energy economy grew at a national rate of 9.1 percent while traditional jobs grew by only 3.7 percent.’ Nebraska, according to the survey, grew 5292 clean energy jobs and 368 business since 1998 but attracted zero dollars in venture capital to our state (2006-2008).
Nebraska ranks 6th in wind energy potential in the U.S., and our solar capacity is outstanding. Expect that zero dollar venture capital investment to change!
