The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan just won an important federal appeals court decision. Recent petitions to block the plan from major utilities have been rejected. Court proceedings are not over with, but this decision bodes well for clean power.
The Clean Power Plan is the primary piece of legislation for the President’s climate change initiative. It’s goal is to reduce toxic emissions from power plants by 32 percent over the next 15 years.
This decision is being applauded by environmentalists and fans of clean air everywhere. “We are confident that the plan will reduce carbon pollution and deliver better air quality, improved public health, and jobs across the country” – White House press secretary Josh Earnest.
A final review of the case is scheduled for the 2nd of June. It’s expected that the Clean Power Plan will be given the green light.
A total of 24 states have issues with the plan, citing it as an “unlawful power grab” and an “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion and not in accordance with law.”
In reality, and especially in light of the decision arrived at during the recent climate conference in Paris, the Clean Power Plan represents just the beginning of what must be done. It does not call for a quick-as-possible transition to clean energy, just less emissions from the dirtiest energy sources.
Those opposed to the U.S. Court of Appeals decision in support of the clean power simply want to protect their profits and business model. This opposition does not come from the people, but rather those few currently in control of the fossil fuel industries.
A forced change is absolutely required here. The adoption of renewable sources of energy is largely ignored by the major power players in the energy industry, much like the auto industry’s weak offerings of all electric vehicles.
A commonly misguided objection to renewables is that they couldn’t possibly replace the amount of power that coal and nuclear deliver. To the contrary, the potential untapped solar power is more than capable of providing all of the energy that our society requires.
What about job loss?
Actually the opposite is the truth of the matter. The clean energy revolution will produce far more jobs than will be lost from the dirty energy industry.
So the bottom line becomes blatantly apparent – a wealthy few are attempting to preserve the status quo.
There’s hope on the horizon, thankfully. The cost for utility scale wind and solar power are becoming too low to ignore. Large utilities across American will begin to invest in wind and solar power if for no other reason that they will become the most cost effective choices.
