By Dave Lucas
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-897349.mp3
Albany, NY – In honor of Earth Day this week, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has announced a new effort to create jobs through renovating homes and buildings while helping New Yorkers save on energy costs. Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
The new programs called "Building STAR" and "Home STAR" would renovate 50 million buildings and 3.3 million homes by 2020, making them more energy efficient. Combined, these efforts would reduce pollution that destroys our lungs and our atmosphere, save more than $3 billion each year on energy costs, and create as many as 318,000 sustainable jobs over the next 10 years.
"These solutions will not only create jobs for people who are ready to go to work, but will protect the air we breathe and the water we drink," Senator Gillibrand said. "If we're going to rebuild our economy, we have to improve the energy efficiency of our homes, and bring our outdated buildings into the 21st century. Building STAR and Home STAR will help renovate millions of businesses and homes in America, cutting pollution, while saving millions of dollars on energy costs and creating hundreds of thousands of new, good-paying jobs."
Today, more than one in four construction workers in America and approximately 15 percent of construction workers in New York have lost their jobs by no fault of their own. Since the recession began, more than 3.7 million construction and manufacturing jobs have been lost. New York State alone lost more than 40,000 construction jobs, nearly 12 percent of New York's construction workforce.
Building STAR and Home STAR would create tens of thousands of new construction jobs across New York, save New York businesses up to $550 million and save New York families up to $355 million on energy-saving renovations.
Gillibrand notes that if the measure gets passed this year it will become effective immediately, reduce pollution, save more than $3 billion each year on energy costs, and create as many as 318,000 sustainable jobs over the next 10 years.
Gillibrand's legislation already has bi-partisan sposnorship in the House. The Senator says she is working to get a Republican sponsor in the Senate.