Ret. General Wesley K. Clark, who is the Co-Chairman of Growth Energy, will be speaking at the White House jobs summit today.
“Green Jobs” has been a hot topic since the new administration took office; yet not much traction has been gained in turning around unemployment rates, which are currently the highest since 1983. The summit was convened by President Barack Obama who took office during one of the country’s worst ever economic recessions. The goal of the forum is to conjugate business executives, economists and labor leaders to discuss ways to improve the economy and create jobs.
According to Growth Energy, Gen. Clark will be making remarks about the Administration’s plans to focus on stimulating the renewable energy industry, in an effort to remake the nation’s economy for more sustainable growth that is less dependent on debt and foreign sources of energy. Clark said that for too long, imported oil has held the nation’s economy “over a barrel.”
“Ethanol is the model for all successful renewable energy industries: driven by technological innovation and with enormous potential for growth and job creation,” said Gen. Clark. “Ethanol is the only viable renewable, sustainable fuel we have in this country that is an alternative to gasoline refined from imported oil. It is being used today. And we can make it cleaner and greener every year – while creating jobs right here that can’t be outsourced.”
In other news, Tuesday Growth Energy recieved a letter from the EPA postponing the decision to act on the Green Jobs Waiver, until mid0-2010.
To the Good General : Lets make a point of creating Jobs through actual installation E85 and Blender Pumps instead of “just” direct ethanol jobs.
You can make as much ethanol as you want but unless you start actually building out the higher blend infrastructure you will continue being in a subservient position of begging for each lower blend increase.
The Ethanol Industry couldn’t even get E12 out of the EPA..let alone E15 . The Ethanol Industry will spend the next 10-20 years just to get to E25 (similar to Brazil) when they could get there in 5 years just by deploying blend pumps across the US
The General should change tactics and take charge attacking top down instead of bottoms up. Actually building out higher Blends instead of begging for lower blends .
By not developing out the higher blends infrastructure you can also kiss the Auto Industry Pledges for 50% FFVs by 2012 out the Window as well as 80% by 2015.
The General is correct , we are relying on far to much foreign oil and we put our National Security at risk because of it. So lets quit playing paddy cake over E15 and start actually developing out ethanol as an alternative fuel instead of as a additive.
The General should respectfully remind the President of his campaign Pledge that by the end of his first term every Vehicle coming off the assembly lines would be Flex Fuel Capable . And of his support for Ethanol.
With that assurance the General should seek the funding to lead the actual development .. hands on job of building out blender pumps.. that will lead our Nation to a more secure energy independence.
His troops are the 13 million unemployed ..in the few years it takes to roll out 20-40,000 blender pumps will be just in time for the Auto Industries pledged FFVs .
EWG’s analysis of the Growth Energy “Green Jobs” waiver can be found here:
http://www.ewg.org/agmag/2009/11/kernalnomics-the-ethanol-lobbys-inflated-jobs-claims/