Gerry,
Government isn't ALL bad: See what follows:
Energy Dept to lead U.S. solar power plan
Source: Reuter / Sonali Paul [Copyright 1997 by Reuters] / Fri, 27 Jun
1997 17:10:40 PDT
WASHINGTON (Reuter) - U.S. Energy Secretary Federico Pena said
Friday that the Clinton administration would use federal purchases, lending
programs, and research to carry out a plan to put solar roofs on 1 million
buildings by 2010.
The commitment came a day after President Clinton announced the solar
power proposal in a speech at the United Nations. Clinton said the plan would
trim the need for burning fuels like oil and coal and help stem global warming.
``We believe this initiative will lower the cost of solar technologies, and make
solar energy more universally available to consumers by the year 2010,'' Pena
said at a press conference, speaking through a solar-powered sound system.
He said that by having solar roofs on a million buildings, the United States
would eliminate the same amount of pollution as would be produced by
850,000 cars and generate the electricity produced by about four coal-fired
power plants each year.
While a solar industry official said the government push would give solar
power a big boost, environmentalists and Pena acknowledged that it would
make only a dent in U.S. emissions that trap the sun's heat in the atmosphere.
``This initiative will make a small but important contribution to the vital task of
reducing U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases well
below 1990 levels over the next decade,'' said Alden Meyer, government
relations director for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The substantial emissions cuts are being sought by some nations for an
international global warming treaty due to be completed in Kyoto, Japan at the
end of this year.
The United States, the world's largest polluter, came under heavy criticism
from other countries for failing to curb its emissions and delaying stating its
goals for cuts in the next century.
``We are not suggesting that this initiative will have an enormous impact on
reducing greenhouse gases by 2010,'' Pena said. But he added that by moving
solar technologies to the market and making them more affordable, the
administration was paving the way for more significant emission reductions in
the 21st century.
The administration hopes to win approval from Congress to use money from
several different departments to help come up with $200 million a year for
helping states and communities finance solar purchases.
The Energy Department will also lead efforts to buy solar panels for some of
the 500,000 buildings owned by the federal government. |
