With the success of the Cash for Clunkers program, a similar program is emerging. “Cash for Refrigerators” or “Cash for Appliances” program. Scheduled to begin this fall, a new $300 million federal program will provide rebates of $50 to $200 for purchases of high-efficiency household appliances. However, consumers do not have to trade in their old appliances to get the rebate.

With the decline of the economy paired with the slumping real estate market, the government is trying to jump start sales of energy efficient appliances. If you’re thinking about making a purchase and getting one of those pretty stainless steel appliances, remember that the new appliances must bear the Energy Star seal to qualify for the rebates.

Vice President Joe Biden is in Philadelphia today to relay how the creation of green jobs is the bridge to middle class economic recovery. Biden is at the University of Pennsylvania’s William B. Irvine Auditorium and has provided the Philadelphia Inquirer with an op-ed of his key talking points.

Biden writes, “According to the Council of Economic Advisers, green jobs pay 10 to 20 percent more than other jobs. They also are more likely to be union jobs. Building a new power grid, manufacturing solar panels, weatherizing homes and office buildings, and renovating schools are just a few of the ways to create high-quality green jobs that strengthen the foundation of this country.

More green jobs can also mean more money in consumers’ pocketbooks at the end of the month. They can reduce your electric and heating bills, leaving you more disposable income for other things.

Right here in Philadelphia, for example, there are 400,000 rowhouses that could be weatherized and made more energy-efficient. Just doing that would lower household energy consumption by 20 to 40 percent, saving families hundreds of dollars a year.

Fortunately, as we will stress in our meeting here today, Mayor Nutter, Gov. Rendell, and other state and city officials across the nation are ready to help us build a greener economy. Philadelphia, for example, is working with its unions, universities, and community colleges to impart green skills to workers from all walks of life. The city is also proposing a new public authority to support large-scale green investment, especially in weatherization, building retrofits, and infrastructure.

We’re excited to be in Philadelphia promoting an idea that has so many benefits. We’re starting to make the investments needed to leave a cleaner world to our children while also creating good jobs right now. When you’re creating green jobs, you’re doing well by doing good.”

A eco-friendly economic package is waiting for the approval of President-elect Barack Obama when he takes office on January 20. Among the features of the stimulus package are the creation of green jobs including weather-proofing thousands of residences, installing high-tech meters to monitor and reduce power use in homes, and grants to state and local governments to build mass transit systems and infrastructure projects.

Obama said during his campaign that he would back a bill capping greenhouse gas discharges while permitting companies to trade in pollution credits. He said $150 billion of the income derived from the planned carbon permits covering 10 years will be used to fund energy efficient and alternative power projects. About 2.5 million green jobs are expected to be created by the green stimulus package in the next 2 years.

The US Department of the Interior has unlocked more than 190 million acres of federal lands to be leased for renewable, geothermal power development. These acres, which are contained in 12 different states, are reportedly capable of producing over 5,000 megawatts of power by 2015 and over 12,000 megawatts by 2025, enough to power millions of homes.

Unlike some of more controversial oil drilling sites, the geothermal legislation is careful to exclude all national parks or designated wilderness areas from geothermal development. Of course, the geothermal developers themselves will also have to meet local environmental standards and regulations. The profits from the geothermal electricity produced will be split between the state hosting the power plant, the local county and the a federal fund being dedicated to future development of geothermal power.