Clean Energy Tax Credit $2.3 Billion

As double-digit unemployment numbers continue, President Barack Obama is announcing a major plan to create jobs by investing in clean energy technology.

Obama unveiled a $2.3 billion tax credit Friday that will go to solar, wind, and energy management projects. The funds are earmarked under a $787 billion stimulus package Obama signed last February. They are expected to create 17,000 new U.S. jobs. The credit will be matched by $5 billion in private capital.

The House of Representatives has approved an additional $155 billion jobs package to boost hiring, although, the Senate has yet to take up its version of the legislation.

Obama says building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future.

The EPA’s Smog Ruling

The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to bring substantial health benefits to millions of Americans by proposing stricter limits on smog.

More than 300 counties are already in violation of the current requirements put in place by the Bush administration.
The new limits could more than double that number and include counties in some of the most under-populated states.

The Obama administration’s proposal sets a primary standard for ground-level ozone of no more than 0.060 to 0.070 parts per million, to be phased in over two decades.

Regions with the worst smog pollution, including central California, Chicago, and Houston will have more time than other areas to come into compliance.

The EPA estimates that complying with the new standard will cost $19 billion to $90 billion a year, but they say it will save billions in avoided emergency room visits, premature deaths, and missed school and work days.