Shoving Renewables Off the Fiscal Cliff

Another voice, this time a Congressman from Vermont, advises against throwing the renewable energy tax credit off the fiscal cliff.

The consensus is that if we shove this important incentive off that cliff, jobs, clean air, and opportunity go with it into the chasm.

"We need a national energy policy that moves towards clean energy...there's real opportunity in creating jobs if we move aggressively into standing up a clean energy economy," said Congressman Peter Welch on Vermont Public Radio News.  

"If the production tax credit that has powered the wind industry to record levels of installed megawatts over the last few years is killed, the American Wind Energy Association estimates that 37,000 jobs could be lost overall," according to Matt Sledge in the Huffington Post.

Then there's something we can all relate to -- clean air.  I'd like my air and the air of my friends and family to be clean as we run our lives on renewable, pollution-free energy.

What's more, government support of fledgling industries has significant precedence. 

"Throughout our country's history -- from aviation to agriculture, from biotechnologies to computer technologies -- the federal government has supported the private sector to keep the United States at the technological forefront of important industries.  To seize the clean energy opportunity, we must do so again - and we must act now," said Richard Kauffman, senior adviser to the secretary of energy.

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