Can environmental stewardship also boost the economy? See why the answer is "yes."
From alternative energy development to greenhouse-gas emissions policy, California has stood at the forefront of the Green Revolution. We must continue to ride this wave by embracing clean, green technology, green-collar job training and measures to reduce auto use, including mass transit. Environmental and economic needs will continue to converge -- for example, as our manufacturing base gives way to jobs in everything from landscaping to solar panel installation.
To help California address the global environmental crisis while thriving in the new economy arising from it, Dominic Caserta proposes:
- Using tax credits and subsidies to 1) encourage research and development of renewable, sustainable energy and 2) spur the creation of green-collar jobs such as solar panel installation, home weatherization, urban agriculture, recycling and landscaping.
- Expand and improve our existing vocational and career-tech system in public schools to include green-collar jobs. We also need a statewide program based on Oakland's Green Job Corps, which funds job training and a paid internship for low-income and at-risk youths.
- Promote green building -- including high-density, mixed-use development with a significant transit component -- through tax breaks, subsidies and an overhaul of zoning laws. Also needed: 1) a green-building standard, similar to a countywide standard approved in Santa Clara, and 2) legislation, akin to the state's alternative-energy approach, that mandates a percentage of green building by a certain date.
- Support legislation to promote biofuels derived from sources such as switchgrass and sugarcane, which use either marginal lands or far less crop area than corn and soy. Corn-based ethanol, for example, actually raises greenhouse-gas emissions and food prices, which has led the United Nations to project an increase in world starvation.
- Taking statewide the Green Business Program, an effort by the Association of Bay Area Governments that helps businesses and public agencies gain green certification through complying with environmental regulations, limiting pollution and conserving resources. In tandem, we need to expand college funding to train green consultants for such a program.
- Let residents amortize the cost of retrofitting their homes with solar panels, as suggested by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Carl Guardino of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
- Enact a statewide Green Incentive Program to encourage homeowners to choose alternative energy sources such as wind and solar, as well as energy-efficient appliances. Homeowners in the program would save a minimum of 20 percent on their utility bills.
- Create a dedicated funding source for mass transit, especially rail, akin to Prop. 98 for education. It would go beyond the broad goals of Prop. 1B to ensure a percentage of funding in each state budget (though not as far-reaching as for education).
- Amend California's emissions and fuel standards to increase California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards by 50 percent by 2016 -- about 10 percent more than current law.
- Adopt distance-based fees based on vehicle fuel efficiency and distance traveled. Europe has curtailed emissions and miles driven without reducing the volume of goods moved.
- Enact congestion pricing or user fees, adjusting the fee based on demand. Tolls priced higher during peak commute hours, for instance, will help shift travel to non-peak times.
- Enact "feebates," a mix of fees and rebates, to increase the manufacture and purchase of cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
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