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Renewable Energy and Economic Potential in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota
The most important issue awaiting action by this Congress for rural development in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota is renewable energy legislation. Expanding production of renewable electricity to 20 percent of the nation’s electrical generation has the potential to create a large number of new jobs in the rural Midwest and Great Plains, according to an unpublished analysis from the U.S. Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The state-by-state projections were prepared in conjunction with the laboratory’s report 20% Wind by 2030, but were never formally published. Here, we will focus on Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. To view this pdf file simply click on the title below.
Renewable-Energy-and-Economic-Potential
This article is from the Center for Rural Affairs’ October 2009 monthly newsletter. The authors are John Crabtree and Kim Preston.
Health Care: What If Rural Really Mattered?
After August’s rancorous health care debate, it seems time to return to the question, “What would it look like if rural really mattered?” Making health care coverage affordable for the rural self-employed should be a driving force in the reform debate. Over half the jobs in rural America are tied to small businesses or self-employment – on family farms, ranches and Main Street businesses. As a result, rural people who own or work for those businesses are twice as likely to be underinsured as urban Americans.