2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumHow does Hillary's climate change plan compare to O'Malleys?
To tackle the problem, Clinton proposes, through tax incentives, to increase the amount of power derived from renewable sources such as wind and solar. . .
In a video released Sunday night, Clinton named two national goals that she will set if elected president. The first is to have more than half a billion solar panels installed across the country by the end of her first term. The second is that, within a decade, the United States will generate enough clean, renewable energy to power every home in within its borders. . .
In response to Clintons proposals, fellow 2016 Democratic contender Martin OMalley called attention to his plan, which he says addresses not only consumer energy use, but also industry and transportation.
In Mr. OMalleys plan, announced just over a month ago, the former Maryland governor said that a moral obligation to future generations to act immediately and aggressively required us to transition to a fully clean energy economy by 2050.
In his white paper, OMalley argued that the transition to 100 percent clean energy is the biggest job-creation opportunity the country has seen in a century. He proposes creating a Clean Energy Jobs Corps which will work with local communities on energy-saving projects.
He criticized the all-of-the-above energy policy used by the White House, stating: We cant meet the climate challenge with an all-of-the‐above energy strategy, or from drilling off our coasts, or from building pipelines that bring oil from tar sands in Canada.
OMalley plans to seek a cap on carbon emissions from all fossil fuel sources, and use proceeds from federal permits to help lower- and middle-class families with job transition assistance. He also said that he would reject projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline.
During his two terms as governor of Maryland, O'Malley doubled Maryland's renewable fuel production, and reduced the states greenhouse gases by 10 percent.
The fact is, there is no either/or choice between our prosperity and protecting our planet we can create a future where there are more jobs, and a future with a livable climate, OMalley wrote in an op-ed for USA Today. And there is no future for humankind without a livable climate.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0727/How-does-Hillary-s-climate-change-plan-compare-to-Martin-O-Malley-s
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)kenfrequed
(7,865 posts)Easily better.
And Tax credits are about the single worst way to try to stimulate activity. Usually they just serve as a credit to people already engaged in this activity. What is worst these incentives are frequently juggled or spoofed to allow people to gain the benefit with the absolute minimal amount of participation.
A lot of politicians like Tax Credits because they appear to be "revenue neutral." The problem is that they actually decrease collected revenue and therefore actually create debt. Personally I would prefer grants and fines as a means to get there along with solid spending on governement facilities to add solar power to them. The money is visible that way and part of the budget proper. It cuts back on cheating on all this. A tax on non-renewables is also a good idea as it punishes the use of things that are causing environmental damage.
elleng
(130,970 posts)Would be nice if others would notice, eh? Check bloomberg. Look HARD, like a little paragraph stuck in somewhere before Sanders discussion. http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-26/hillary-clinton-outlines-climate-change-proposals
bigtree
(85,998 posts)...the comparing and contrasting has already begun; not to mention the scrutiny this puts on conflicting interests in Hillary Clinton's personal and professional career which threaten to dilute or negate these initiatives she's presenting this week.
elleng
(130,970 posts)just say, 'Isn't it GREAT?! She has a plan!' I've seen a lot of the latter.
artislife
(9,497 posts)But I am very impressed with O'Malley's. Thank you for posting.
elleng
(130,970 posts)(P.S., YES, it IS life!!!)
I do hope people recognize the BIG differences between their plans, and start/continue to appreciate him.
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)let us translate: more goodies for the rich from hillary. om has a solid plan. love the carbon cap. hope there will be fines attached to noncompliers.
elleng
(130,970 posts)I'm glad you noticed, and HOPE others will too, restorefreedom.
restorefreedom
(12,655 posts)just needs more visibility and the damn debates. he has a great message.