THE NEW GREEN DEAL COMES TO SAN DIEGO

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Mayor Filner announces major solar initiatives

By Hugh Moore, Treasurer, San Diego County Green Party

March, 8, 2013(San Diego) -- When Dr. Jill Stein ran on a platform for President of the U.S. calling for the New Green Deal , I doubt that she imagined her platform would be the newest initiative of the Mayor of San Diego or the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. San Diego having a long history of being more than a little to the right on the political spectrum a shift to the left would have seemed unlikely just a few months ago.

However, Mayor Bob Filner just announced his new solar initiative, planning to put solar panels on every city building within five years. And this is not the end of the initiative. Mayor Filner wants the whole County to become the leader in alternative energy production with a goal of ending up with all the power used in the County being produced by solar and other renewable sources. This initiative is being supported by two of the five San Diego County Board of Supervisors (Dianne Jacobs and Dave Roberts).

Just as the New Green Deal promises a shift to alternative energy sources will stimulate the economy, Mayor Filner pointed out that the solar initiative is also a jobs initiative. The installing of solar panels requires workers and sustainable energy will require conservation meaning a retrofit of nearly all buildings creating even more jobs. The Mayor, supported by Supervisors Jacobs and Roberts, also pointed out that the County already has one solar panel manufacturer and certainly will be looking for more manufacturers to come to the county.

This initiative is not pie in the sky per the Mayor. He states that there will be obstacles to overcome, current laws and regulations that support the present system of power generation, but assured the public that no regulation will stand in the way of the initiative. As the Mayor pointed out, all laws and regulations were written by some governmental body and the people in the room can change the laws and rules to support solar power.

Supervisor Jacobs joined the conversation pointing out that San Diego is the perfect place to institute a solar power program. First, San Diego is blessed with fantastic weather where the sun is nearly always shinning. And secondly, current San Diego residents pay a higher rate for electricity compared with most of the country. The end result of the program will be lower utility bills for all San Diego residents, businesses and governmental bodies.


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