A buried provision of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could provide another needed economic incentive for clean energy and sustainable development ~ just as other industry stimulus measures, like the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), are set to expire. The act allows for significant capital gains tax deferment to incentivize investment in low-income areas of the country that need economic help. Opportunity Zones (OZones), span over 8,700 distressed communities needing a jump-start to spur growth. This stimulus comes from “Opportunity Funds,” which aggregate investments to fund business and real estate ventures in Census tracts designated as OZones.
A deadline is fast approaching. While countries worldwide are already feeling the effects of climate change, scientists from the intergovernmental panel assigned to assess the future of our planet have warned that if we don’t meet that deadline, there’s more damage to come. However, change is not something that is traditionally fast in coming to either the political or fossil fuel sectors. As grassroots activists and more progressive politicians boost the conversation about reaching a zero-carbon goal in the coming years, a new question arises: What’s to become of a multi-billion dollar industry built on fossil fuels?
If demand for…
Colorado is going green in a whole new way. At a climate change conference in Poland late last year, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced that the state would be implementing a Clean Energy Fund in 2019. Colorado’s the latest state to join an ever-growing list establishing green financial mechanisms. Green Banks, like the newly-formed Green Bank of Colorado, focus on funneling public and private funds into clean energy initiatives. This is a big financial step that could set into motion some of the goals of the Green New Deal.
The Green New Deal, or GND, is a proposal to restructure…
The concepts behind a Green New Deal are currently widely popular with members of both political parties. But there’s a catch. Most don’t know much about it…
The Green New Deal (GND), in its most basic sense, is a robust series of programs involving investment in clean energy jobs and infrastructure resulting in a transformation of the energy sector, and the economy overall. In addition to these massive investments into clean energy programs, citizens are given a federal-job guarantee, and there is a transformative effect on the U.S. economy.
Since the recent midterm elections, public interest in the New Green Deal (GND) has skyrocketed in Washington and across the country. But, what is the GND and why is it causing such a stir?
The Green New Deal (GND) is a set of goals and proposed actions aimed at creating national economic and social change. The Sunrise Movement, started by young activists, created a political firestorm in November of last year by occupying Nancy Pelosi’s office demanding newly elected Democrats support a plan for a Green New Deal. The GND takes direct aim at oil companies and the politicians who…
“I think it is a fantastic idea and I think it is the secret, or one of the secrets, to winning 2020,” Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who has worked with progressives like Ocasio-Cortez, said of the Green New Deal. “It combines an issue that Democrats are way ahead on — the environment — and an issue they need to desperately get ahead on — the economy.”
The Green New Deal has become a sort of umbrella term for a list of ideas for economic change, with the fight against climate change at its core. At the moment, quite little…
If the Green New Deal is going to succeed, we will likely need major changes to the country’s energy tax structure; changes that would eliminate big tax cuts and subsidies for the oil and gas industry and instead encourage renewables. Bill’s like Senator Ron Wyden’s Clean Energy for America Act (introduced in 2017–18), could help level the playing field for clean energy, giving a boost to development efforts like the Green New Deal.
Currently, Big Oil profits enormously from federal tax cuts and subsidies that come from the pockets of American taxpayers. Green energy companies don’t see nearly the same…
Many small towns like Fowler, IN never expected that renewable energy projects would be the saving grace of their communities. But when wind developers make $17 million in payments to your county and spent millions more on roads and infrastructure improvements, the benefits are hard to ignore.
So how does a green new deal stack up for the heartland?
Rural economies have faced population declines, stagnant job growth, and a lack of opportunities for development and prosperity across the country. Over the last decade, however, a change has appeared on the horizon. Communities in rural states have seen more and…
How have conservatives been so successful at changing hearts and minds? Values. Learn the three most important lessons we’ve uncovered about values and culture, and how the progressive movement can create real opportunities for reform!
There’s a powerful concept often associated with successful business management practices:
“Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast”
Made famous by Ford executive Mark Fields, it’s a simple statement that sums up the importance culture plays in organizations. The same can be said for politics and the state of the progressive movement.
Progressives need to admit that we’re behind the curve and playing catch up with the…
Sustainable Solutions
Writings on energy, efficiency, and sustainability in cities and beyond
