"Decarbonized" nations have strong economies.Sweden, for instance had announced a carbon tax in the year 1991 .This lead to a rush of entrepreneurs in the cleantech sector; generating power from wind,sun,and tidal energy.Even garbage,agricultural wastes were used for energy generation.As a result Sweden’s growth rates surged in the corresponding period.Spurred by this success, Sweden is now aiming at complete elimination of fossil fuel based power by year 2020.Iceland ,another nation was dependent on imported coal and oil for nearly 70% of its energy needs during 1970’s.Today Iceland has successfully tapped geothermal energy and hydroelectric power for its energy needs.90% of all housing in the country is heated with geothermal energy; the remainder being heated mainly with electricity. The majority of the country’s electricity (80%) is generated using hydropower; the remainder being based on geothermal power. The immediate fallout of this energy independence is a fourth ranking of Iceland, in the most affluent nations of the earth by the International Monetary Fund.
And finally ,California notorious for its commitment towards environment protection is one of US’s most energy efficient states and also possesses a robust economy .Studies have also revealed that US has greater domestic energy resources compared to Iceland or Sweden and an estimated second-largest geothermal energy resource in the world.Give these facts perhaps the republicans can have a rethink of their continued support to oil companies.
