Today is Earth Day! Established in 1970, Earth Day is a global event organized to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The official theme for this year is Invest In Our Planet.
Until now, the United States has been woefully slow to take a global leadership role in protecting our planet at a time of accelerating climate change. Under President Joe Biden and the Democrats—with zero support from Republicans—we have made the first giant steps towards decarbonizing our economy.
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included $369 billion in funding to tackle climate change. It employs incentives and fees to encourage oil and gas companies to reduce their planet-warming methane emissions while providing funding for climate-friendly projects. Analysts expect the IRA to stimulate an additional $1.7 trillion in private investment in green energy initiatives. The IRA represents implications for both our climate and our economy: In the first six months after it was signed into law, more than 100,000 green jobs were created, representing almost $90 billion in new, private sector investments.
And there's more! The EPA’s newly outlined plan will ensure that by 2032, 66% of all passenger cars and 25% of all new heavy trucks sold in the US are electric.
We are, indeed, heeding the call to Invest In Our Planet. Our country is well on the way to meeting the commitment we made in the Paris Accords.
Congressman Kean’s response to this? He trumpets his vote for H.R.1, “The Lower Energy Costs Act,” calling it a means to “build an economy that promotes domestic energy production in order to secure our future.” Translation for those who don’t speak MAGA: “Drill, baby, drill.” Hardly a surprise from a man backed by a party bankrolled by the fossil fuels industry. In case there’s any doubt about just how uninterested Congressman Kean and his party are in Investing in Our Planet, Speaker McCarthy’s demands for raising the debt ceiling include repealing all of the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Congressman Kean likes to say he cares about the environment. If he actually did, he’d be supporting the idea that the way to reduce American dependence on fossil fuels is to push for renewable energy—wind, solar and electricity. That's a policy that is good for the Earth, good for the United States and good for New Jersey.
Wear green for Earth Day. And remember, for the sake of our planet, it’s imperative that we make NJ7 BLUE again.
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