In response to China's urging that the U.S. clean up our climate act, consider 1) our investment of billions in clean energy technology, 2) a new climate bill in the works and 3) incentives for greening American homes.

Last year at the Copenhagen climate conference, the U.S. made a promise that China today urged us to make good on – not only that we cut down on our own greenhouse gas emissions, but that we make investments in developing countries to help them do the same. The U.S. and China are among other developed nations who made similar commitments, including Brazil, South Africa, India and the European Union.

Granted, the U.S. has a long way to go in the pursuit of our green-geared ambitions – and we may disagree on the best direction to take,  from wind, to solar, to nuclear – but we do seem to be on the right track.

WE’RE INVESTING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CLEAN ENERGY

The U.S. has $90 billion in federal stimulus funding set aside for clean energy investments. This includes $100 million announced last week for funding the innovation of green technology, particularly for 1) energy storage, 2) electropower technology and 3) thermodevices.

WE’RE WORKING ON A COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE BILL

Just yesterday President Obama met with 14 U.S. Senators to press them on a commitment to passing a comprehensive climate and energy bill this year. Senators John Kerry, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman were all in attendance, authors of the KGL proposed climate bill that would require the U.S. to cut our emissions 17 percent by 2020 and presumably provide a “fair share” of aid to help developing countries clean up their own climate act.

WE’RE INCREASINGLY TAKING RESPONSIBILITY AT HOME

From the Homestar program that reimburses homeowners for green investments, to home efficiency rating systems that highlight the long-term savings inherent in energy-efficient houses, it’s clear that greening our homes is the way to go for both the environmental and financial incentives.

WHAT WE’RE NOT DOING IS BEATING CHINA

Though by their own admission China says they have a long way to go in cleaning up their own climate act, they’re still beating the U.S. in the renewable energy race. In fact, China leads the world in both solar and wind technology manufacturing, for which we are a contributing factor.

Maybe we should take China’s advice and invest more funds in supporting clean energy technology in developing nations (and in our own country) instead of paying China to manufacture the wind turbines and solar panels we could be making here at home!

Meredith Simonds Climate Change China, clean energy, climate bill, Climate change, Graham, Homestar, Kerry, Lieberman, nuclear, Obama, Renewable Energy, Solar, technology, U.S., Wind