Energy efficiency, broadband technology high on Obama’s list
Energy efficiency, and the technological infrastructure and development that make it possible, are high on the list of President-elect Obama’s plans for economic stimulus. Obama said that building energy efficiency is a prime component of his administration’s economic recover plans, intended to stimulate an improvement in the currently stagnant United States economy. This list also includes improvements in the nation’s broadband infrastructure.
In his weekly national radio address, available on YouTube, Obama laid out a plan which will save jobs and improve the economy. He said “We need action –- and action now. That is why I have asked my economic team to develop an economic recovery plan for both Wall Street and Main Street that will help save or create at least two-and-a-half million jobs, while rebuilding our infrastructure, improving our schools, reducing our dependence on oil and saving billions of dollars. … First, we will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy-efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs.”
Perhaps more importantly, the energy plan is expected to include a commitment to upgrade America’s electricity distribution infrastructure. By equipping the grid with smart grid technology, a built-in communications network, utilities can better supervise the operation and efficiency of the power grid, while consumers will be able to obtain information that will let them use energy more efficiently.
On the subject of broadband, Obama said “It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they’ll get that chance when I’m president – because that’s how we’ll strengthen America’s competitiveness in the world.”
The technology portions of the Obama economic recovery plans make it clear that the new administration will place technological innovation at the center of economic stimulus. It makes excellent sense to replace outmoded technology systems with better ones while replacing lost jobs and salvaging the United States economy. Stimulus and technology is a combination that could save both the U.S. economy and the U.S. leadership position in the technology sphere.
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