A Practical Legislative Action Plan

Considering that the US is responsible for 25% of the planet's energy use and greenhouse gas production, any global solution to the coming energy and environmental crisis unquestionably requires action on their part... action that the current US establishment has been recalcitrant to provide, considering the power of industrial lobby groups in US politics, and particularly with the Republican party.

So its no suprise that the US progressive movement has some... well progressive suggestions. Its a document called Energize America, which has just seen the fifth draft recieve public release, and its a collaborative effort to force some positive change within our capitalist system (i.e. its not a communist or utopian solution, which at the end of the day, are impractical given the realities of present social and power structures). It has mainly been developed through the Daily Kos community, which is the highest traffic blog on the net, with over half a million visits daily.

I have watched the development of this document over the past year, as it has taken input from investment bankers, politicians, lawyers, engineers and many many others, all united by a vision that something needs to be done. Please at least read the brief Executive Summary, if not the Full Draft, which is very long. Its long because it describes why the action plan is needed, how it can be promoted, and specific legislation that can be enacted.

Much of this legislation can be applied to Australia, which has similar problems as the US with regards to urban sprawl, coal based electricity generation, low fuel economy cars and poor mass transit. The plan includes 20 legislative acts:

I.......The Passenger Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act ("500mpg cars")
II......The Transportation Industry Efficiency Act ("Long Haul")
III.....The Fleets Conversion Act ("Mass Transit")
IV.....The Community-Based Energy Investment Act ("Neighborood Power")
V......The Passenger Rail Restoration Act ("Bullet Trains")
VI.....The Clean Coal Generation Act ("Clean Coal")
VII....The Wind Energy Production Tax Credit Act ("Reap the Wind")
VIII...The 20 Million Solar Roof Act ("Harness the Sun")
IX.....The Renewable Portfolio Standards Act ("Fair Everywhere")
X......The Federal Net Metering Act ("Get on the Grid")
XI.....The State-Based Renewable Energy Investment Act ("Green States")
XII....The New Energy Technology Demonstration Act ("Liquid Coal and Golden Glow")
XIII...The Sustainable Energy Economic Prosperity Act ("Focused for Lasting Success")
XIV...The Carbon Reduction Act ("Atmosphere Stability")
XV....The Federal Energy Policy Enforcement Act ("People's Energy Watchdog")
XVI...The National Energy Efficiency & Conservation Act ("EnergySMART")
XVII..The Home Efficiency Act ("C the Light")
XVIII.The Demand Side Management Act ("Real Time Energy Pricing")
XIX...The Telecommuter Assistance Act ("Work Smart")
XX....The Energy Security Funding Act ("Paying the Piper")

For more detail see the Full Fifth Draft of "Energize America". I just hope the progressive movement in Australia, if it exists, (please, if anyone knows where it is let me know in a comment!) can pick up on some of these ideas and run with them.