Letters: Biden’s IRA is critical to future; A better way
Biden’s IRA is critical to future
Biden’s State of the Union speech touched on many topics but none more important than the remarkable legislation benefiting everyday Americans. In my view, Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is critical to cutting costs for American households and creating a better future for the country.
As a science educator, I know how important it is to reduce our use of fossil fuels. Our household made the transition to solar in 2019 and we continue to reap the benefits of this decision. But until this year, the upfront cost of transitioning to clean energy was cost-prohibitive for most Americans.
Thanks to IRA, it has never been more advantageous to reduce our use of fossil fuels. IRA offers tax credits to electrify your home (installing solar, geothermal, heat pumps, electric appliances or purchasing an electric vehicle). But what really makes me excited is that this legislation helps lower to middle income households get up-front discounts on these projects.
Currently, I’m educating my neighbors on IRA and all its benefits. Coal infrastructure needs to be replaced by renewable energy, and IRA is making it cheaper to do than ever before. Our home project included both a solar array and a housing insulation upgrade. We currently produce enough solar energy to offset our electricity use. On top of a $0 electricity bill, we earned an additional $730 last year through the SREC program. There is no better time to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels than right now, with the help of IRA.
A better way
Looking at the anger in Memphis and Georgia today we see how upset the public is.
I am inclined to think, although both understandable and partly justified, the extent of it may come from the decline in organized religion. So I think as we read about injustice in the paper we should remember that, although difficult to put in the news. Nonetheless, from the center of time salvation is created, and this brings peace and joy.
This is a better beginning for right ethical action, than gritting our teeth and going out to smash something in rage.
Corporate leadership needed on PSU board
Corporate America is largely missing among our trustees. None of our 38 board members currently work for the 30 corporations in the Dow and, surprisingly, there is only one board member from the S&P 500. Moreover, there are no board members working for any of the 30 largest companies in Pennsylvania. So why is this important?
Penn State is an $8 billion enterprise with 35,000 employees (4th largest in PA) and 100,000 students. Management of our university, with so many competing interests, is admittedly a challenge. But if a U.S. corporation had a large operating deficit (akin to our recent $120 million PSU operating deficit) and its stock price plummeted (akin to our U.S. News ranking’s decline from #37 to #77), shareholders would demand change. PSU shareholders (alumni and all Pennsylvanians) should demand change as well.
Dr. Jane Snowdon (Eng 81, Ph.D., Georgia Tech) is an Innovation Engagement Leader for Corporate Technical Strategy at IBM (DOW) “developing the pipeline and leading proof-of-concepts to create strategic business value.” Previously she served as IBM’s Deputy Chief Science Officer “leading and managing team personnel in executing scientific strategy.” Importantly, Dr. Snowdon has served on the advisory boards of five leading U.S. engineering colleges so she “knows” the competition. In 2022, Dr Snowdon received the College of Engineering Outstanding Alumni Award.
Alumni trustee candidates need 250 nominations (Feb. 25 deadline). Go to trustees.psu.edu, Elections, Alumni Trustees and Request a Ballot. Nominate Dr. Snowdon. We Are.