RESOLUTION ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
| A Message From REPP |
Over 50 diverse groups from across the United States have come together to express common concerns and solutions for our energy system. |
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| Press Release | ||
| Resolution | ||
| Recommendations | ||
| Supporters | ||
| Fact Summary | ||
To view a pdf file of the Resolution on sustainable Energy and Low-Income Communities, please click here.
To view the fact summary that accompanies this resolution, click on the links below--or click here.
WHEREAS everyone has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and reliable energy and transportation services;
WHEREAS children's future, including their health, climate, water and air face serious consequences from our continued dependency on fossil fuels and nuclear power;
WHEREAS low-income, minority, and tribal communities should have full knowledge of and participation in all aspects of energy policy decision-making, yet have been excluded from energy policy design;
WHEREAS low-income, minority and tribal communities suffer disproportionate health and ecological impacts from the energy industry and from energy users, including coal and uranium mining, oil extraction, oil refining, power plant siting, dirty and unsafe industrial practices, and vehicle pollution;
WHEREAS low-income families disproportionately spend more of their income on basic energy services;
WHEREAS homes in low-income, minority and tribal communities severely lack energy efficiency features that ensure heating, cooling, and lower bills;
WHEREAS rising energy demand and the restructuring of the electric industry is unleashing more fossil fuel power plants and extending the operating hours of existing nuclear and fossil fuel plants in low-income and minority communities-thereby degrading the air, displacing other uses of community space, and lowering local property values;
WHEREAS the current state of electric industry restructuring may create higher and more volatile electric rates for residential customers, excessive payoffs to dirty power plants, and inadequate support for cleaner energy options, despite its potential to advance cleaner, more affordable energy;
WHEREAS transportation policies that promote urban sprawl, encourage greater reliance on gasoline and diesel fuel, and neglect mass transit seriously affect low-income, minority, and tribal communities through air pollution, increased health problems and fewer job opportunities;
WHEREAS increased energy efficiency, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, new energy technologies such as fuel cells, and cleaner transportation fuels such as natural gas offer significant yet virtually untapped potential to improve the environment; supply affordable energy to meet diverse needs; foster energy independence; create jobs in low-income, minority and tribal communities; and lessen global warming;
Therefore, we the undersigned call for the following: