US Government Accused of Not Putting Public Land to Green Use

Just recently, a new report made public by the Center for American Progress drew attention to a rather troubling situation: rather than turning towards renewable energy sources, the US government chooses to remain faithful to coal mines and natural gas.

To put it bluntly, it seems that most of the country's public lands are presently used by the coal and natural gas industries.

Thus, 66% of the energy produced on these lands stems from the former, whilst 18% is produced by the later.

As for non-hydro renewable sources (i.e. solar, wind or geothermal), Tree Hugger reports that all of them combined merely amount to 1%.

Given the fact that coal mining and natural gas drilling are known to cause significant levels of pollution and to even be responsible for serious health issues, it is no wonder that most people wish to put an end to these activities as soon as possible.

Besides pinpointing exactly how the American public lands are improperly used by the federal government, said report also comments on how such decisions taken by high officials impact on the US's economy and society.

What should bother American citizens is that these 700 million acres of lands and 1 billion acres of offshore waters are by no means used to ensure the wellbeing of the population living here.

Thus, those who contributed to this study argue that, by letting go of coal mines and natural gas drilling, the government is quite likely to succeed both in improving national health, and in boosting the country's economy, by creating thousands of new jobs.

With everyone going on and on about environmental protection and sustainable development, it is a bit surprising to say the least that those who actually have a say in the matter do not seem at all troubled by their bypassing such an opportunity to go green.

The report can be read on the Center for American Progress website.