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R. Thomas Buffenbarger

We Must Rebuild US Energy Systems
4/22/04 | Source: Cincinnati Enquirer

Members of the union I head work at thousands of firms in aerospace, electronics, ship building and dozens of other industries. Over the past few years many workers have had the economic rug pulled out from under them. To date, almost 3 million U.S. manufacturing workers — 150,000 in Ohio — have lost their jobs.

Rebuilding America's manufacturing base requires us to invest in America's future. And the most important investment our nation can make is in the rapid development of new energy infrastructure.

The new Apollo Alliance has offered America a blueprint to do just that. The alliance's plan, backed by my union and a broad-based national coalition, would boost production and use of hybrid and hydrogen cars and high-speed rail systems.

Our plan also calls for retrofitting old buildings to conserve energy; reducing power plant emissions; building a modern electrical grid; and creating a new demand for solar energy, new biomass fuels and hydrogen fuel cells.

An investment on this scale would not only improve our national security by freeing America from our dangerous dependence on oil, but also help revitalize blighted urban areas and create more than 3 million new jobs.

For workers in states like Ohio, the alliance's plan holds special promise. For example, most workers who had been employed at GE's Evendale plant have skills and training that could easily be adapted to producing high-performance wind turbines, fuel cells and other advanced energy technologies; or making the next generation of high-performance American cars and appliances. I know. I worked at Evendale as a tool and die maker.

Like our investment in highways, the Apollo Alliance plan would more than pay for itself. For example, consumers would save more than $200 billion by making America's production and use of electricity far more efficient. The plan would also return more than $300 billion to the U.S. Treasury in new revenue, as wages and profits rise.

Not surprisingly, the oil industry argues that the new energy systems the Apollo Plan envisions are costly and impractical. They always say that, and they're always wrong.

For too long the debate about our nation's energy future has asked us to choose between good jobs or a clean environment. In fact, we can have both.

R. Thomas Buffenbarger is International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The Apollo Alliance is a project of the Institute for America's Future.