Earth Day sparks increased access to clean energy, Biden allocates $7 billion to “Solar for All”
Global leaders and progressive officials observed Earth Day at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Va., on historic grounds that hold the stories of the many populations that inhabited them.
Indigenous Americans and freed slaves once cultivated the land there, known as “Batestown,” before federal development under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration Program. This year, in honor of the April 22 holiday, President Joe Biden announced pioneering efforts to help solve the climate crisis.
“On this day 54 years ago, with literally toxic rivers burning, air filled with pollution, millions of Americans from every age and background rallied together to stand for our environment and for future generations,” Biden said in his opening remarks.
“The United States can and must lead the world in transforming our energy systems away from fossil fuels,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at the event. “The Solar for All program—that I successfully championed—will not only combat the existential threat of climate change by making solar energy available to working class families, it will also substantially lower the electric bills of Americans and create thousands of good-paying jobs. This is a win for the environment, a win for consumers, and a win for the economy.”
Just last week, Biden initiated efforts to preserve 13 million acres of Western Arctic land. On Monday, he declared $7 billion in awards through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Solar for All Program. According to the White House, funds will be dispersed to 900,000 households for rooftop solar paneling, decreasing homeowners’ utility bills by $400 a year.
Biden said the investment would “cut more than 5 million metric tons of carbon pollution annually.” He’s inviting other citizens to join his cause through the newly launched ClimateCorps program. Enrollment is open to all but geared toward training the younger generation in clean energy jobs.
The EPA investments add to Biden’s ongoing support for sustainable energy initiatives. During his speech, Biden shared sentimental connections to Earth Day when he introduced the first climate bill in the Senate and served alongside Gaylord Nelson (D-WI), the official credited for creating Earth Day.
“All these years later, as president, I was able to sign into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most significant [climate] investment ever anywhere in the history of the world, and we’re just getting started,” Biden said proudly.
Through federal programs, the IRA makes billions available in loan distributions to encourage business owners and families to use clean energy sources. The legislation is projected to cut 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions for the country by 2030 and save up to $1,000 in energy costs for the average American.
“Last year was the Earth’s hottest year on record, and over the last two years, natural disasters and extreme weather in America have caused $270 billion in damages,” Biden said. “The impacts we’re seeing, due to decades in the making because of inaction, are only going to get worse, more frequent, ferocious, and costly.”
His fears resonate with Democratic progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), who introduced the Green New Deal in Congress several years ago. The policy, which passed in the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate, urges government agencies to stimulate economic recovery, eradicate poverty, and reduce carbon emissions and ecosystem degradation through affordable housing projects.
Although legislators did not move forward with the bill, Ocasio-Cortez and Markey have been passionately pursuing viable alternatives to solve the growing issue at hand.
“Over just the past few months, President Biden has paused new natural gas exports, vastly expanded the conservation of our public lands in Alaska, and has overseen tens of billions of dollars in climate investments across the United States,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the event.These efforts, propelled by the administration, signal larger investments to come as Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcome environmental activists to the White House this week for a water summit. The two have indicated a national goal to protect, restore, and reconnect 8 million acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of the nation’s rivers and streams.
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