Big Plans for a Sustainable Energy Future

By now you might have heard about some new plans to move us toward a more sustainable energy future that will decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Sounds like these plans can't be implemented fast enough, as the world's carbon emissions actually increased by 3% over the past year, which surpassed the expectations of top scientists from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Google.org (the philanthropic side of Google) has unveiled a plan to move the U.S. to a clean-energy future. The vision, according a recent report on Grist:

In 2030, electricity will be generated not from coal or oil but from wind, solar, and geothermal power. Energy demand will be two-thirds what it is now, thanks to stringent energy-efficiency measures. Ninety percent of new vehicle sales will be plug-in hybrids. Carbon dioxide emissions will be down 48 percent. Getting there will cost $4.4 trillion, says the plan -- but will recoup $5.4 trillion in savings. The Clean Energy 2030 plan would require ambitious national policies, a huge boost to renewables, increased transmission capacity, a smart electricity grid, and much higher fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles.

And then there is the Picken Plan. We have written about it before, and he's doing a great job of educating people about the issues of energy security thanks to media buys and loads of press coverage. The Pickens Plan calls for building new wind generation facilities that will produce 20% of our nation's electricity and allow us to use natural gas as a transportation fuel. The combination of these domestic energies can replace more than one-third of our foreign oil imports within 10 years. You can read all about The Plan here, or can visit the website to sign a petition to ask the Candidates to be more specific about their energy policies, or enter a climate video contest.