The Apollo Alliance for Good Jobs and Clean EnergyThe Apollo Alliance provides a message of optimism and hope, framed around rejuvenating our nation’s economy by creating the next generation of American industrial jobs and treating clean energy as an economic and security mandate to rebuild America. America needs to hope again, to dream again, to think big, and to be called to the best of our potential by tapping the optimism and can-do spirit that is embedded in our nation’s history.
In 1961, John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to send a man to the moon and return him safely home again within the decade. It was an audacious dare. The technology did not yet exist, but he marshaled the resources of a nation -- focusing public investment, research, science and technology education, worker training, and America’s industrial might on a common purpose. It was leadership toward a common positive goal and it worked. In less than eight years Neil Armstrong placed the first human footprint on the lunar surface, and President Kennedy to this day remains honored for his vision and as a leader of courage.
Now America has an Apollo project for the 21st century. Today the stakes are much, much higher. We face an economy hemorrhaging its highest paying and most productive jobs, cities falling apart with over a trillion dollars in unmet public investment in crumbling schools, transportation, and infrastructure. The middle class is increasingly insecure as career ladders are broken and not replaced in new service sector jobs. And on a global scale we face never before seen environmental disruption, rising social inequity, and the emergence of fundamentalist anger that threatens our very security. We need new leaders of vision, and a new unifying call to action.
The Apollo Alliance is a joint project of the Institute for America's Future and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy. The Apollo Alliance is a 501-c3 organization.Energy & The Economy: The FactsThe United States has less than 3% of the world’s oil reserves, but accounts for more than 25% of global demand
The U.S. consumed 96.95 quadrillion Btus of energy in 2001, almost three times as much as the runner up (China with 36.67 quad), and approximately 25% of the world total.
2.7 million private sector jobs have been lost since January 2001, and more than 75% of those jobs have been high wage, high productivity manufacturing jobs.
Cities and their mega-regions face nearly $2 trillion of neglected infrastructure needs according to the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Department of Energy.
Every $1 Billion invested into public transportation supports 47,500 jobs.
Congestion cost American commuters 4.5 billion hours of delay, 6.8 billion gallons of wasted fuel, and $78 billion in 1999, and the problem is getting worse.
In the US, water and wastewater annually consume 75 billion kWh — 3 percent of the total consumption of electricity or equal to the total electricity consumed by the pulp and paper and petroleum sectors.
Buildings consume more than a third of US energy, and the average home produces more pollution than the average car.
Energy efficient buildings and appliances have higher labor content than traditional technologies, replacing wasted energy with high skill jobs.
DOE estimates that standards on clothes washers, water heaters, and fluorescent lamp ballasts will create 120,000 jobs through 2020.
Development of only 10% of the wind potential in the 10 windiest cities would provide enough capacity to reduce total U.S. carbon emissions by a third.
Renewable power production is labor intensive - wind power creates 2.77 jobs for every MW produced, Solar PV creates 7.24 jobs per MW, and geothermal creates 5.67 jobs per MW.
In the 1980s the US had an 80 percent share of the photo voltaic market; today we have 25%.
Apollo Alliance National Steering Committee http://www.apolloalliance.org/about_the_alliance/#aanscNational Advisory Boardhttp://www.apolloalliance.org/about_the_alliance/#National_Advisory_BoardLabor Unionshttp://www.apolloalliance.org/about_the_alliance/#3Environmental Organizationshttp://www.apolloalliance.org/about_the_alliance/#4Economic, Social Justice, Faith-Based, and Regional Partnershttp://www.apolloalliance.org/about_the_alliance/#5Business Partners and Endorsershttp://www.apolloalliance.org/about_the_alliance/#8Foundationshttp://www.apolloalliance.org/about_the_alliance/#6
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