Hillary Clinton wants to drastically increase America’s clean energy production by a jaw dropping 700 per cent, ensuring all households are powered by clean energy by 2027. Hillary’s ambitious plans have drawn a lot of admiration and criticism in equal measure as the 2016 Presidential race continues to shape up and climate change taking center stage. Rising atmospheric temperatures globally and perennial heat waves in India and Pakistan threaten to kill thousands unless government leaders are steadfast in putting an end to carbon emissions. Hillary has a plan.
On Monday, Hillary outlined her ambitious renewable energy plan to combat carbon emissions in two ways. The first would be to generate enough clean energy to have every home in the U.S. powered by clean energy 10 years after she assumes office. The second would be to install over 500 million solar panels across the nation within her first term.
Her plans, though greeted with plenty of support from environmentalists, were faulted for not being coupled with a comprehensive adoption plan. Some critics even humorously offered comparisons between her plans and John F. Kennedy’s 1960s moonshot. Hillary was not one to be ignorant of the herculian involvement her plans demanded.
The Democratic front runner said, “I know these goals will test our capacities, but I know they are within our reach.”
Climate change is shaping up to be one of the early make-or-break issues in the run up to the 2016 polls. The U.S. is powered majorly by carbon emitting fossil fuels; a staggering 85 per cent as per reports from the World Bank. Reformation of the energy sector is pivotal in ensuring continuity of the country’s eco system and future generations.
President Barrack Obama’s administration spearheaded several key energy projects that were widely criticized for their carbon footprint. They include the Keystone XL pipeline that will transport crude oil from Canada to Mexican refineries, contributing to higher levels of dirty oil distribution.
The move by her fellow Democrat cast Hillary’s position as regards climate change at the forefront and she has made her stand well known. The question now is not on where she stands but on really how she plans to go about her projects.
Hillary did not reveal where she would get the funds for her project, only choosing to say that the projects would “pay for themselves.”
Whereas her explanation does seem lacking in the fundamentals of how she would do it, Hillary is miles ahead of her Republican rivals including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Senators Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, who are yet to acknowledge that man is partly to blame for global warming.
Environmental activist Bill McKibben quipped Hillary was half way there but direly needed to show she got “the other half of the climate change equation” which was reserved for actions.
Hillary has stood firm to clearly state she will act to drastically cut down carbon emissions during her presidency. With over 500 million solar panels planned for installation, her project is indeed ambitious, but offers the first laid down renewable energy plan by any 2016 hopeful.
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