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Urban League Chairman Calls for National Energy Policy
Investment in Energy System Would Create 3 Million Jobs, Hofmeister says
BOSTON (July 28, 2011) --Investment in America’s outdated energy delivery system could create 3 million desperately-needed urban jobs, National Urban League Chairman John D. Hofmeister said during the League’s Conference in Boston today.
Without a sensible energy plan, the nation faces a future of blackouts, gas lines and further urban decay, he said.
“We woke up this morning in America knowing we need 20 million barrels of oil to get through the day, and we will only produce seven,” Hofmeister said. Guess where the other 13 will come from: everywhere but here.”
The former President and CEO of Shell Oil U.S. Operations, heads Citizens for Affordable Energy, a public policy education firm that promotes sound U.S. energy security solutions, sustainable environmental policies and public education on energy issues.
The urban jobs crisis is crippling America’s cities, he said.
“Urban jobs mean several things to urban America, and without jobs those things don’t happen – urban education, urban infrastructure, urban governance, urban energy, urban commerce. Throughout our history, we have migrated to cities because that’s where the action is. But now we see aging and decaying infrastructure with no idea what to do about it. Urban energy grows ever more expensive. Urban schools show such disrespect to the young people who walk through those doors – the mold, the peeling paint, the old furniture. Commerce, reeling from the lack of demand, leaving abandoned buildings, empty storefronts.
“Is that the legacy we want to leave our children in urban America? That they live in a place people want to leave?”
The key to reversing the disturbing trend is domestic energy production, Hofmeister said.
“We live in a country that has more oil than we need, but we don’t have access. We’re not allowed to drill it,” Hofmeister said. “Eight presidents and 19 Congresses have declared energy independence. Meanwhile, the trillions of dollars we send overseas has built the modern wonder that is Dubai.”
The resources that America spends importing energy could be invested in urban schools and infrastructure, Hofmeister said.
“We can invest in the energy future of this nation and replace the 20th century system - coal plants that are an average of 40 years old, nuclear plants on their last legs, transmission lines that are heavy and brittle – with a new, efficient energy system – new wind farms, new solar farms, new biofuel plants."
Those investments will create jobs in every city in America, he said.
“Steel, parts, industrial equipment – those things are manufactured everywhere. And those jobs will in turn create more jobs, and those boarded-up storefronts will be filled with merchandise. And those jobs will create a tax base for municipal governments, giving them the revenue they need to rebuild those schools and repair that infrastructure.”
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The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York City, the National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy. Today, there are more than 100 local affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide.
