The headlines may have escaped your attention last week, but the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just released their financial analysis of the American Power Act (APA) – a bill that has been proposed in the US Senate for reducing our nation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  The APA aims to reduce US GHG pollution 17% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, through a combination of approaches including a cap-and-trade system for the electric power industry and tax incentives for renewable energy.

US climate change legislation is projected to cost less than $0.40 per day for US households - less than a postage stamp!

Over the next 40 years until 2050, the APA is projected to cost households an average of $79 to $146 per year.  That’s less than your Netflix^© subscription for a year, less than your cell phone bill for 3 months, and less than your grocery bill for 2 weeks.  And for households really focused on trimming spending during the tough economic situation, the EPA showed that the APA will actually reduce average energy bills during the next 10 years.

The bill’s sponsors, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), were very pleased by the EPA’s findings.  So were national environmental groups and businesses leaders.  Opponents of federal climate legislation have used scare tactics about potential outrageous costs of GHG regulation to support their reluctance, so how will they continue to stand in the way of our nation’s transition to a cleaner, greener future?  It’s time for all of us to rally behind clean energy legislation, while the cost is still cheap and the benefits are enormous!