Hodes: Seeing Green

by: Jack Mitchell

Wed Sep 01, 2010 at 12:28:10 PM EDT

Paul Hodes gets it. Read his complete plan here.

PAUL HODES: JOB CREATION THROUGH CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION The private sector is the engine that drives our economy. To be sustainable, jobs must be grown from the bottom-up - from the small businesses on Main Street, New Hampshire -and from the entrepreneurs who bring new ideas to the market. We're fortunate that New Hampshire is home to some of the leading innovators in the alternative energy sector. We must work with them, recognizing that job growth begins with a highly educated work force and access to credit, but also that clean energy technologies are an important area for growth in our state.

Creating Clean Energy Jobs NOW America has long been known for its investment in science, technology, and innovation, and for being the world leader in harnessing the future. Unfortunately, we are in danger of relinquishing that leadership to other countries when it comes to clean energy. Currently, New Hampshire sends $133 million out of state each year for coal and $2.3 billion to pay for oil. Today, China employs 1.9 million people in its renewable energy sector. The U.S. employs 750,0001. China is spending $660 billion over ten years on clean energy research and development, South Korea is spending $85 billion over five years, and Japan is aiming to expand its installed solar technologies twentyfold by 2020. The U.S. lags far behind. Private sector growth in the clean energy sector is critical to creating American jobs, ending America's dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and preserving the air and land in our country for our children and grandchildren. Jobs in the clean energy sector grow rapidly - at two and a half times the rate of other types of jobs between 1997 and 2008. And $1 million of investment creates three times as many jobs when invested in the clean energy sector as when it is invested in fossil fuels.2 That's just the kind of smart, forwardthinking investment we need right now to get our economy moving. As importantly, expanding clean energy is vital to our national security. We cannot continue sending money to hostile and unstable regimes that fund our enemies and weaken our standing in the world. This plan will help spur investments in New Hampshire and throughout the nation while strengthening our national security in the process.

Sincerely,
Paul W. Hodes