Clinton Suggests 10 Ways the U.S. can move to Clean Power

In the opening speech of the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas last night, Bill Clinton offered a list of ten actions the United States could take to help solve the energy crisis and perhaps convince other nations to join in the crusade.

He emphasized that any such plan would have to be economically feasible if we are to convince others to follow suit. Without further ado, here are his suggestions:

1. Congress should put a price on carbon and establish a cap-and-trade system.

2. Tax credits for clean energy should be renewed and lengthened. The current time frame is three years. Clinton thinks that should be doubled or tripled in order to stimulate investment in clean energy.

3. Figure out the federal government's role in modernizing the electrical grid. Lots of money is spent moving energy to populated areas. Taxpayers and utilities should share the costs of modernizing the grid.

4. Federally mandating utility decoupling. California separated utility profits from electricity sales and has since become one of the most energy efficient states in the country.

5. Legislation to accelerate the replacement of incandescent light bulbs with LED lighting. According to Clinton this could save the equivalent of a dozen power plants over the next 20 years.

6. Continue to fund carbon capture and storage projects.

7. Accelerate the move from corn-based ethanol to more sustainable biofuels. This is a big one. People are jumping on the corn ethanol band wagon before the results are even in. In the meantime food prices are going up and forests are being cut down to make space for corn crops. Sugar cane ethanol is much more efficient.

8. Shut down urban landfills and use them for either waste heat or fertilizer.

9. Accelerate our move to hybrid and electric vehicles and modernize the rail system.

10. Demonstrate that this is not just something rich countries can afford to do.

In a more controversial idea, he suggested having an entire state such as Nevada becoming entirely energy independent which, in his words, would "rock the world."

[via earth2tech]