Some states want funds from the Covid-19 stimulus package to help them cope with climate change. They are quite open about it. In a fascinating compilation of examples, Inside Climate News and the Nation have found such desires as these:
- In Maine, the state wants money for a heat-pump program that provides incentives to install 500,000 heat pumps in Maine. The goal is to reduce the amount of heating oil Maine uses in the winter. “Heat pumps . . . run on electricity, and can be paired with clean energy sources like solar or wind power to eliminate the carbon footprint of home heating.”
- California’s “Climate Smart Agriculture” program is endangered, the report says. It assists farmers in “conserving agricultural land against non-farm development; increasing on-farm water efficiency; improving soil health and managing manure to mitigate its climate impacts. The programs, popular with farmers, are receiving at least twice as many applications as there are grants.”
- In Kentucky, the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development is helping businesses install solar power and take energy conservation measures. Coal used to provide cheap power, the report says, but no longer. “Utility customers have been shouldering the costs of shuttering old coal-burning power plants and cleaning up the toxic messes they leave behind, while the power companies doubled down on more expensive coal.”
- Nationally, a group called Mountain Towns 2030 is seeking stimulus funds for “‘green pathway’ programs, such as green infrastructure, electric vehicle charging or renewable energy jobs.”