Vermont and seven other states will share nearly $4 million in economic stimulus funding announced today under a green jobs program that was authored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).   “If we get our act together as a nation and start addressing the major environmental problems of our time – global warming and our dependence on fossil fuels – we can create millions of good paying jobs,” said Sanders, chairman of the Senate’s Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee. “In other words,” he added, “good environmental policy is good economic policy.”

By Senator Bernie Sanders

This country faces the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.  From 2000 to 2008, over 8 million Americans slipped out of the middle class and into poverty, more than 7 million Americans lost their health insurance, over 3 million lost their pensions, millions more lost their homes and savings, and median household income declined by over $2,100.   

Then, as a result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street, that very bad situation became much worse with the financial collapse of last year.  The current official unemployment rate of 9.8 percent hides what is in fact an even more dismal economy.   Today, if you add to the official unemployment rate those Americans who have given up looking for work, those who want to work full time but are working part time, some 17 percent of working-age Americans, 27 million people, are either unemployed or underemployed.  That’s catastrophic!

U.S. clean energy legislation could help create 850,000 manufacturing jobs around the country, a report from a group representing business and environmental interests said on Wednesday.  The study conducted the Blue Green Alliance found that policies such as a renewable electricity mandate would provide steady demand for clean energy and put Americans to work building the components needed to make wind turbines, solar panels and other technologies.

Energy efficiency, sustainable power, cleaning up the planet: They are all part of the realm that has become known as "clean tech," and it is enjoying real job growth at a time when the overall employment picture remains grim. According to an October 2009 report by Clean Edge, a West Coast research group, clean tech has benefited greatly from infusions of federal government stimulus money, state activity, venture capital investment and moves by traditional industrial corporations and utilities to improve their efficiency, cut pollution and bolster renewable energy.

WASHINGTON — The topic of the day was climate change, but Sen. Bernie Sanders turned for a moment to lessons learned in war.  Standing alone on a stage before a green backdrop, the Vermont independent recalled how rapidly the U.S. economy had switched from civilian to military production after President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan in December 1941.  “We were able to go on the offensive, not only in the east against Japan but in Western Europe,” Sanders said, speaking at a recent climate-change conference here. “A year and a half later, the war had essentially been won.”  As Sanders spoke, he waved his hands and pointed at the audience. His voice boomed in his signature staccato style above the clinking of plates and glasses. He had a modern-day message, and he wanted people to hear it:  “People tell me ... that we are not capable of transforming our economy and transforming our energy system and creating the jobs that will stimulate this economy,” he said. “I would strongly disagree.”

Vermont will receive $69 million to develop a smarter, stronger, more efficient and reliable electric system.  The nationwide program is designed to increase efficiency, promote renewable energy sources, and save consumers money.  “This is an opportunity for Vermont once again to lead the nation in energy efficiency and in developing a greener economy.  These investments help move our state and our nation toward energy independence and will create many good-paying jobs,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Green Jobs and the New Economy Subcommittee. Sanders asked about the grant at a Senate environment committee hearing on climate change legislation.

Many experts believe that, in the words of a new study by green-industry research firm Clean Edge, "we are just at the beginning of the 'clean tech' job creation era" and that renewable energy, environmentally-friendly building and manufacturing, and all aspects of energy efficiency will offer "the greatest opportunity for wealth and job creation since the advent of computers and the Internet."  Already, the economy is generating about 1.3 million new "green collar" jobs per year, says outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas. By 2030, the number of U.S. jobs directly or indirectly related to energy efficiency and conservation will reach 40 million, according to the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society.

Sen. Bernie Sanders told a climate change conference that “the science is clear” on global warming and that “it is clear we need to act.”  Sanders, a member of both the Senate’s energy and environmental committees, and chairman of the green jobs subcommittee, took on scare tactic used to attack climate change legislation.  He said, “while strong global warming legislation, which to my mind has to emphasize energy efficiency and a bold move to such sustainable energies as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass, and others, will cause some economic dislocation, I do not agree with the pessimists who see this energy transition as doom and gloom.  Quite the contrary, at a time when we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars every year importing oil from foreign countries around the world, I see extraordinary potential in terms of job creation and the movement toward energy independence when we invest that money at home.”  VIDEO

Texas cares little for environmental niceties. Its governor, Rick Perry, bashes the Environmental Protection Agency at every opportunity, and recently branded the climate bill that passed the House of Representatives a “legislative monstrosity.”  Yet the oil-and-gas state has nonetheless emerged as the nation’s top producer of a commodity prized by environmentalists: wind power. Eager developers are covering its desolate western mesas with giant turbines. The world’s largest wind farm began operations in Texas this month, and the state now has close to three times as much wind capacity as Iowa, the second-ranked state.

Four southern Vermont counties will receive nearly $700,000 in economic stimulus money to promote energy efficiency.  Independent Sen. Bernard Sanders, who heads the Senate Environment Committee's Green Jobs and New Economy Subcommittee, authored legislation that established the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.  "The block grant program recognizes the importance of local efforts to create good-paying jobs in developing sustainable energy and promoting energy efficiency," Sanders said. "What I particularly like about this approach is that it relies on local initiatives and grassroots participation."

What if we could help stop global warming, save homeowners on their utility bills, and create thousands of badly needed jobs too?  It’s not a far-off fantasy, it’s the power of the green economy.  And thanks to Albany’s leadership, New York is set to become a national (and global) leader in harnessing green technology -- and making sure its benefits are enjoyed by everyone.  The landmark Green Jobs-Green New York bill signed by Governor Paterson this morning in Syracuse, is based on a simple idea: set up a statewide fund to help homeowners and small business owners with the upfront costs of making energy-saving renovations and repairs, like fixing insulation problems or replacing an inefficient boiler.  Then, use part of the energy savings to pay the fund back and help finance repairs for the next home or business.

Senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation to promote the goal of having 1 million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the roads by the end of the next decade. The bill would give the Department of Transportation the resources to work with Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to develop plans for deploying recharging stations along roads and highways by 2020.

A new investment fund set to begin Friday hopes to cash in on the billions of dollars set aside by the government for environmentally friendly “green” projects.  The Energy Efficiency Opportunity Fund, which is expected to announce its launch today at the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York, is a social investment fund that will finance projects like retrofitting buildings to achieve greater energy efficiency.  It also plans to invest in low-income areas, creating “green collar” jobs in the process.  The fund is sponsored by Living Cities, a consortium of foundations and financial institutions that invests capital to strengthen low-income communities, and Green for All, an advocacy group founded by Van Jones, formerly the White House’s environmental jobs “czar,” that advocates for equality and opportunity in the new green economy.

After vowing to veto this year's biggest environmental bill, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to issue an executive order by midweek that would require all electric utilities to generate a third of their power from renewable resources, such as wind and solar power, by 2020.  The order presumably would set no limit on how much of the green power could be imported from other states.

Google Inc is disappointed with the lack of breakthrough investment ideas in the green technology sector but the company is working to develop its own new mirror technology that could reduce the cost of building solar thermal plants by a quarter or more.  "We've been looking at very unusual materials for the mirrors both for the reflective surface as well as the substrate that the mirror is mounted on," the company's green energy czar Bill Weihl told Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Maine's largest wind farm is getting $40 million in federal stimulus funding.  FirstWind's Stetson project, which is also New England's largest wind-power site, is one of 12 clean energy projects included in a first round of awards from an American Recovery and Reinvestment program totaling $502 million.  The Stetson project is in Washington County. The operating site has 38 individual turbines but an expansion of 17 turbines is in the works. The stimulus program provides direct financial support for clean energy projects in lieu of tax credits.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Subcommittee on Green Jobs and New Economy, held a field hearing in the Vermont Statehouse on Thursday morning.  This hearing examined clean energy job development policies in Vermont and their applicability nationwide.  Sanders heard from Vermont green energy entrepreneurs, workers’ advocates, academics, and others during this roundtable discussion.  “Today’s hearing is an opportunity to learn about what is happening in Vermont on energy efficiency, sustainable energy, and green jobs development. It is an opportunity to learn about where we are today in this revolutionary process and where we want to be in the future,” Sanders said in his opening remarks.

Vermont’s utilities recently joined forces with Efficiency Vermont and Vermont Electric Power Co., to apply for a $66 million federal stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to upgrade the state’s electricity grid.  Vermont has a good shot at seeing this money, thanks to the seniority and clout of our congressional delegation. Sen. Patrick Leahy is second in seniority on the most powerful committee in Congress -- the Appropriations Committee. Sen. Bernard Sanders is the ranking member of the "green jobs" subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. And Rep. Peter Welch sits on the House Energy Committee and has been a leader on renewable energy and new technology issues.

The United States today spends some $400 billion a year importing oil from countries like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Mexico, Russia, and Venezuela. Think for a moment what an incredible impact that same $400 billion a year could have on our country if that money were invested here and not abroad, in such areas as weatherization, energy efficiency, sustainable energies like wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, public transportation and automobiles that are energy efficient or don't use fossil fuels at all.

What we are talking about is an energy revolution that leads us toward energy independence, the cessation of support for foreign dictatorships and the ability to avoid Mideast wars fought over oil.  What we are talking about is an energy revolution that will substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enable us to address the global warming crisis that threatens our planet with increases in floods, draught, extreme weather conditions, disease and wars fought over limited natural resources.  What we are talking about is an energy revolution that will result in cleaner air, water and food and make us a healthier nation.

Drive around the San Francisco Bay Area and you can see the emerging corporate infrastructure of the new green economy.

In a downtown Oakland office tower, you’ll find the headquarters of BrightSource Energy, a solar thermal power-plant developer that has scored contacts to build more than 2,600 megawatts’ worth of solar farms. Off Highway 101 in the Silicon Valley suburb of San Carlos, Tesla Motors is developing its next electric car. Down the road in Palo Alto, Shai Agassi‘s Better Place is designing regional electric-car charging networks and battery-swapping stations for Australia, Canada, Denmark, Israel, and the United States.

Backing those companies is VantagePoint Venture Partners. The venture capital firm is making big bets on green tech by funding nearly two dozen startups involved in everything from LED lighting to algae biofuels to water to the smart grid.