Economic Stimulus Includes 500,000 Alternative Energy, Energy Efficiency Jobs

President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan is continuing to move through Congress. In his radio and internet address on Saturday, Obama said his plan would create 500,000 jobs by doubling the production of alternative energy in three years, improving the energy efficiency of 2 million American homes and developing fuel-efficient cars. The timeline for the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan,"- at one time expected to be on the president's desk the day of his inauguration -- has slipped to mid- to late February to allow for the regular process of markups and conference committee meetings.  After some Democrats expressed concerns that energy was underrepresented in the package, accounting for only $10 billion of the anticipated $300 billion in tax provisions in the bill, some of Obama's economic advisors showed a willingness to double the tax credits to more than $20 billion . The stimulus is the focus of a number of different advocacy efforts including the Sustainable Energy Network which is urging Congress to focus the package on sustainability energy technologies and "green jobs" rather than nuclear power and fossil fuels, SaveOurEnvironment.org which is asking Congress not waive the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for economic stimulus-related projects, and Friends of the Earth which has launched a campaign to keep funding for new roads out of the economic stimulus and to promote investments in clean transportation alternatives (which create more jobs) instead. Foreign countries are latching on to Obama's plan for a "green stimulus," by introducing their own plans that invest in renewable energy and efficiency. In recent days, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and Australia have introduced proposals that collectively call for more than $200 billion in low-carbon investments and aim to save and create millions of jobs.