Capping greenhouse gas emissions is not only the right thing to do environmentally but would also be a huge economic stimulus to the country. According to the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, "A $100 billion U.S. government investment over two years could create 2 million 'green' jobs in such industrial sectors as steel and construction, environmental and labor groups."

Leo Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers said in a telephone briefing that "the U.S. move toward wind power has already prompted the reopening of two struggling steel mills, now making steel plate for use in new windmills.  Beyond that, the retrofitting of old, energy-inefficient buildings would create jobs for steelworkers, glassmakers and those who manufacture heating and cooling systems."

Gerard cited a report commissioned by the Center for American Progress think tank, assessing the benefits of such a $100 billion investment plan.  The report presumes that something like Senate Bill 3036, The Climate Security Act, passes.  That bill, sponsored by Senators Boxer, Lieberman and Warner, was considered earlier this summer but is not likely to go anyway this year.

John Podesta, president of the think tank, said "$50 billion of the investment would be tax credits to help private businesses and homeowners pay to make their buildings more energy efficient; $46 billion would be in the form of direct government spending on retrofitting buildings, expanding mass transit and freight rail, making "smart" electrical grids and new investment in renewable energy; and $4 billion in federal loan guarantees."

A report prepared by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the Center for American Progress think tank said "this kind of rapid public and private investment would jump-start a U.S. economy with less emissions of carbon dioxide, a climate-warming greenhouse gas".