Courage. Backbone. Chutzpah. You don't see it very often in Congress. But this week, we've seen it from your member of Congress, Representative Keith Ellison. In the face of tremendous pressure, he's calling for a stronger energy bill that would require more wind and solar power, and would protect key provisions of the Clean Air Act.
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But Rep. Ellison did stand up. This week, he asked his colleagues to sign on to a letter urging Democratic leaders to make three key changes to the energy bill:
* Ensure More Clean Energy for America: Increase the Renewable Electricity Standard to 30 percent by 2020, combining renewable energy and energy efficiency to deliver more clean energy jobs to the U.S. economy more quickly. Utilities would have to achieve 17 percent mandatory renewables and 10 percent mandatory efficiency by 2020, while maintaining flexibility to do either with 3 percent.
* Ensure that All Coal Plants Meet Strict Global Warming Emissions Standards: Maintain or strengthen existing authority under the Clean Air Act to establish limits for global warming emissions from coal plants.
* Create more Clean Energy Jobs for America and Build Resiliency to Climate Change: Reduce allocations to polluting industries in order to supplement allowance accounts that would bolster green job development and protection of vulnerable communities that are impacted first and worst by climate change. Shave allocations from fossil fuel producers and redistribute to programs that deliver energy efficiency and renewable energy, create green jobs and train workers to fill them, and protect natural resources and vulnerable communities here and around the world.
Thanks, Keith.
