Clean energy is good for job growth

To the editor:

As presidential candidates come to Iowa, it is exciting to hear them talk about their plans for clean energy. In the future, we will not be able to rely on fossil fuels, so we need to start working on using clean energy sources to be sustainable.

Nationwide, we are working toward using more clean energy sources. Recently, Tom Steyer, founder of NextGen Climate, called for presidential candidates to produce plans to power America with more than 50 percent clean energy by 2030. We have the technology to reach this goal.

Iowa generates 28 percent of its power from wind, more than any other state in the nation. We need to increase this number not just for energy production, but for jobs. Over 80,000 jobs are coming from the biofuel and wind industries in Iowa. If we continue to increase our clean energy usage, we will be able to create more jobs.

As a young Iowan, job creation is important to me as I enter the job market in Iowa. Whether or not you see climate change as something that needs to be addressed, job creation is something we can all get behind. As we increase our percentage of clean energy, there will be jobs created. This is a necessary aspect for our economy and environment. We need to strive to meet or exceed 50 percent clean energy for our nation's future.

Allison Nemecek

Cedar Rapids