Stimulate US: Funding the new jolly green giant economy

President Obama promised that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) would have a verdant hue, and the stimulus package indeed came wrapped in green. The money for eco-friendly programs is spread among a number of government agencies, and provide a variety of ways to use this funding to make our planet cleaner while putting more people to work in jobs with long-term viability.

So who stands to benefit? According to the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), the bill proves $6 billion for improving our water, $4.5 billion to green up government buildings, $8.4 B for transit, $6 B for biofuels, $9.2 B for intercity rail, $2.5 B for energy efficiency and renewable energy R&D, $2 B for advanced battery tech, $1.5 B for transportation (including mass transit), and more. All this largess has me fantasizing about zipping from my home in Columbus to Chicago on a high-speed rail, passing by crystal clear lakes, windmill farms with the occasional electric car zipping silently by. That's a future I can embrace.