The people of Illinois are under attack from two serious crises: the soaring cost of energy, and global warming. These two crises are related in the sense that we rely on fossil fuels and use our energy wastefully, which leaves us very vulnerable to price-gouging by oil companies. We need clean, affordable, sustainable energy, for homes, businesses, and transportation now! There is great potential to unite supporters of clean environment, labor, and the business community. To guide us in the right direction, we need to set goals and initiatives which include:
- An immediate roll-back/freeze of electricity rates, followed by an introduction of a system of regulatory controls aimed at protecting the public interest.
- Establishment of publicly owned, publicly accountable energy utilities, and new regional electrical or energy cooperatives.
- Development of green building codes and programs, at all levels of government, to provide assistance for the retrofitting of homes and businesses.
- Increased state and local support for public mass transit, smart urban planning, a cleaner government cars program, and other measures to promote sustainable transportation.
- Raising energy-efficiency requirements for electrical appliances.
- A strong renewable energy standard requiring utilities to obtain 25% or more of their power from renewable energy sources by the year 2020.
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