The Guardian. (2020, October 22). Aggressive push to 100% renewable energy could save Americans billions – study. Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/22/us-renewable-energy-costs-savings-study-report

A recent study by Rewiring America reported that an aggressive push towards renewable energy could save Americans $321 billion in the long run. Joe Biden has wanted to zero out carbon emissions by 2050, a plan that could actually help many Americans. In every American household, the study reports that $2500 in energy could be saved. The cost would be in the initial buying of solar panels which Rewiring America says could be supported through a strong assistance by the federal government. According to the International Energy Agency, solar energy is now the cheapest source of energy in history. An entirely solar-powered country could be difficult in some areas, especially in less sunny regions. In order to make this achievable, existing capacities need to be expanded and this scenario could only truly happen if our nation is inspired to do so. Biden has proposed a $2 trillion dollar plan that will create millions of jobs in renewable energy, the electric car market, and the retrofitting of buildings. A poll by the New York Times found that two-thirds of the population support Biden’s plan including an overwhelming majority of votes by younger voters.

This is important for environmental science, as it ensures that our country going green is actually beneficial for the economy, not harmful. The protection of the economy is a common response to why green policies should not be achieved, but the fact that there is now evidence in favor of this is a crucial argument towards environmental policies on a political level. A president advocating for a policy that could save money is often more effective than one who does not include a financial reason for doing so, even if it is a better policy going forward. While I agree that Biden’s policy saving money would be a good thing for many people, the idea that there would be an upfront price without government assistance is a little concerning. For many in the country, they would see an initial price increase as a bad thing since many people live in the present, not the future. Also, taking into account the political divisions in the country, the idea that the government would actually create a program to assist in this way seems impossible. As a result, I feel like we need a better solution that leads to immediate evidence of savings in Americans. This would encourage Americans to continue supporting the program from the beginning. However, I am not sure how such a program could work, as it seems almost given that there would be an upfront price.