SUPPORT 100% CLEAN, RENEWABLE ENERGY · clean energy is the healthiest, cheapest, and best path...

Support for 100% clean, renewable energy including solar and wind is rapidly

becoming a priority in communities and corporate boardrooms nationwide.

SUPPORT 100% CLEAN, RENEWABLE ENERGY

It is vital to support transitioning our country to 100% clean

energy, including solar, wind and energy storage, because

clean energy is the healthiest, cheapest, and best path

forward for American workers and families. That’s why cities

ranging from Minneapolis, St. Louis and Orlando to Atlanta,

San Diego and Salt Lake City have already committed to

going 100% clean energy.

JOBS:

Jobs and economic growth for working people are among

the most important reasons to be fully supportive of clean

energy. According to the U.S. government, the top two fastest

growing occupations in the nation last year were solar panel

installers and wind turbine technicians. Meanwhile, the growth

in solar, wind and energy effi ciency jobs has already been

so profound that, according to offi cial DOE data, the clean

energy and effi ciency sector already employs 2.5 times as

many workers as the entirety of coal, oil, and gas combined.

Clean energy jobs outnumber jobs in coal and gas alone by 5

to 1. That’s why we must prioritize investing in clean energy

and ensure that the communities and workers historically

dependent on fossil fuels be put fi rst at every stage of our

ongoing transition. As this transition continues, the benefi ts

must be equitably shared, while the jobs and opportunities

clean energy creates must provide family-sustaining wages,

healthcare benefi ts, and union representation for workers.

COSTS:

Communities throughout the United States could be saving

money by switching to clean sources of energy like solar

and wind because they are now cheaper than every other

source of energy in many parts of the country. Communities

like Georgetown, Texas, Greensburg, Kansas, and Rock Port,

Missouri are already getting 100% of their power from clean

sources, and major corporations like Apple, IKEA, Starbucks,

and General Motors are approaching the same. According to

the International Renewable Energy Agency, electricity from

all renewable sources will be consistently cheaper than fossil

fuels by the year 2020.

HEALTH:

Clean, renewable sources of energy like wind and solar

prevent huge amounts of air and water toxics from polluting

the air we breath and the water we drink. As a result, clean

energy has enormous health benefi ts for all people in

America. In fact, according to a study in the journal Nature,

the switch to wind and solar has already prevented 12,700

premature deaths from fossil fuel pollution in the United

States this past decade.

CLIMATE:

A transition to 100% clean energy is important for addressing

the profound challenge posed by the climate crisis. In order

to prevent the worst consequences of a changing climate,

including more frequent and more destructive superstorms, a

crisis in agriculture and for species globally, rising coastlines,

and economic damages that are literally incalculable, it is

essential to begin a quick and just transition to an economy

powered fully by clean energy sources including solar, wind,

battery storage and energy effi ciency.

SUPPORT 100% CLEAN, RENEWABLE ENERGY

Sierra Club Legislative50 F Street, NW, Eighth FloorWashington, DC 20001(202) 547-1141

Sierra Club National2101 Webster Street, Suite 1300Oakland, CA 94612(415) 977-5500

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There are many reasons to support a transition

to an economy powered by 100% clean energy,

and we urge you to enthusiastically support

setting that as a national goal.