going green, environmentWell it looks like America is set on going green as the U.S. EPA looks for more funding for climate programs according to a New York Times article out today. The point of more funding is to fight the large amount of greenhouse gases in this country. It is funding for the future. While the jury is still out on Global Warming, there are plenty of politicians bent on making funds available for slowing climate change. According to the NYT article, the EPA is looking for an additional 43 million dollars in funding.

Living outside Los Angeles, I am completely behind this type of government spending. Out of all the cities on the west coast there is not a better polluted example then LA. With the millions of people, the congested traffic, urban sprawl and continual building even in a recession, something needs to be done to curb all the green house gases that float above the skyline. For being such a big city, I would expect a better public transportation setup. After a single ride on the LA subway while convenient it was obvious that not many people use it. It is nothing like Boston or New York City.

As for the roadways, there needs to be more lanes as extreme as that sounds. Around where I live city construction has at the moment clogged up the streets but they are adding more freeway entrances and exits to lessen traffic a bit. At the end of the day though widening freeways takes decades, is more of a headache then anything else. We need to spend money on cleaner construction, vehicle standards and living standards.
Hopefully with energy tax rebates for the people and additional funding for the Unites States Environmental Protection Agency, our country will start to show the world how a developed country, known for waste, can be kind to the environment without losing the modern conveniences we’ve all got used to.

From a personal standpoint, I’ve worked really hard at car pooling instead of driving solo. This helps cut down on carbon emissions but also is just easier especially when going out over the weekend. The best part about going green is most of the time it cuts down on bills. Now if the government can put into regulation that every new home in hot climates comes with solar panels we will be on to something. I’m sure websites like American National Solar at http://www.americannationalsolar.com/ are crossing their fingers for this sort of legislation too.