Today in Austin, Texas, John Edwards announced his support for committing the United States to join in a world effort to reduce global greenhouse gas pollution by 50 percent by 2050. Last week, the G8 challenged the United States to make this commitment, but instead of agreeing to the reductions, President Bush only agreed to future meetings to discuss voluntary reductions.
John also continued his call for the United States to lead the world in the fight against global warming by aggressively cutting greenhouse gas pollution here at home. As president, John Edwards would cap American emissions by 2010, reduce them by 20 percent by 2020, and reduce them by 80 percent by 2050.
Edwards:
"Global warming is an emergency that requires immediate action from the world community. Before the United States can rally the world to take action, we need to show leadership here at home. We should be leading the charge in this area, not turning our back on the world. Although President Bush refuses to address the crisis, each of us can take responsibility in small ways to make a big difference--by conserving energy and fighting global warming. If we harness American ingenuity, we can emerge from the crisis of global warming with a new energy economy that stimulates innovation, brings the family farm back to life and creates more than 1 million jobs in America's farms and industries."
Edwards has called on Americans to be patriotic about something other than war and to take action in their own lives to fight global warming. In April, John Edwards One Corps groups from across the country held "Reduce Your Carbon" events today to urge members of their communities to sign a pledge to reduce their personal carbon emissions. Edwards also launched a website, http://www.reduceyourcarbon.com/, which encourages Americans to decrease their personal carbon emissions by taking simple steps, like replacing regular light bulbs with fluorescent light bulbs, weathering homes with caulk and keeping air filters clean. Edwards also participated in a "Step it Up" rally in Ft. Myers, Florida to urge Congress to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas pollution by 80 percent by 2050.
In March, Edwards laid out an aggressive plan which halts global warming, achieves energy independence and jumpstarts a new energy economy by:
- Limiting U.S. greenhouse gas pollution starting in 2010 with a cap-and-trade system and reducing U.S. greenhouse gas pollution by 80 percent by 2050, as the latest science says is needed to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
- Leading the world to a new climate treaty that commits other countries--including developing nations--to limit their pollution. Edwards will insist that developing countries join us in this effort, offering to share new clean energy technology and, if necessary, using trade agreements to require binding greenhouse commitments.
- Creating a New Energy Economy Fund by auctioning off $10 billion in greenhouse pollution permits and repealing subsidies for big oil companies. The fund will support U.S. research and development in energy technology, help entrepreneurs start new businesses, invest in new carbon-capture and efficient automobile technology and help Americans conserve energy.
- Meeting the demand for more electricity through efficiency for the next decade, instead of producing more electricity.
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Comments: 18
I find your candidacy intriguing in a populous candidate kind of way. Though you are a bit of an unknown in spite of your 2004 appearance as vice president on the ticket. Your single term as Senator from N.C. was rather uneventful. That is both good and bad. No scandals, but high points are scarce as well. I find your pre-political vocation a bit troubling and wonder if the average person would be able to look to you and your potential administration for serious and meaningful legal reform?
I strongly disagree with some of your energy planks, such as the trade system and the auctioning off $10 billion in greenhouse pollution permits. I view these as enabling polluters, especially the ones that can afford to buy pollution credits and permits, instead of getting real solutions to the problem. Several of your other points on this issue are good sound bites, but what steps are you and an administration willing to take to implement positive changes in the environment?
Let me tell what is needed in a candidate, and I think many others are looking for this too, a straight talker that can outline actual steps of progression to resolve the issues this country faces. At this point in time you have yet to distinguish yourself from the rest of sound-bite spewing candidates. Publish a true platform with planks outlining how you and your administration would proceed. We need the citizens need real answers to the real problems we face right now! Those issues include the environment, but also health care, employment, taxation, and energy!
No more sound bites! We want real answers!
Keep up the great work.
And don't worry about Bill (comments above) - he just needs to do some research and he will find you already have health care, employment, taxation and energy covered.
I just bet he hasn't read the first thing on your website! Here is a few for BIll:
Achieving Energy Independence & Stopping Global Warming Through A New Energy Economy:
http://www.johnedwards.com/about/issues/energy/new-energy-economy/
Edwards Outlines Plan To Fight Terrorism
http://www.johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20070607-terrorism-plan/
Edwards Outlines Plan To Revitalize Rural Communities
http://www.johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20070606-sc-rural/
fact sheet:
http://www.johnedwards.com/about/issues/rural/sc-rural-fact-sheet/
John Edwards Health Care Plan: Most Comprehensive, More Realistic
http://www.johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20070603-health-care/
Edwards Unveils Plan To Relieve Families From Rising Gas Prices
http://www.johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20070531-gas-prices/
fact sheet:
http://www.johnedwards.com/about/issues/energy/20070531-gas-prices-fact-sheet/
Edwards Calls On FCC To Make Internet More Available And Affordable:
http://www.johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20070530-fcc/
A Strong Military for a New Century
http://www.johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/strong-military-fact-sheet/
(Side note to Doug: That's not how it works, Silly!!!)
... I will wait for Mr. Edwards to respond ...
That's one of the things that I like about Sen. Edwards. He encourages all of us to take simple actions now, and not simply wait for some big governmental change in the future. We can all do our part to use less electricity at home by turning off unnecessary lights, changing to compact fluorescent lights, running our washing machines at colder temperatures (clothes still come out clean in cold water.
We can also change our energy consumption by changing the way we drive. When we get a new car, we can get hybrids. I bought a used Prius a couple years ago and it has been great. If we keep the speed down we get better mileage. If we don't gun it when we accelerate, we get better mileage.
As to Mr. Bill's concern about carbon credit trading, while I recognize that it is a system that can be misused, every system can be misused, I do believe there is considerable value to it. One thing I found interesting is that the UN Development Program is entering the carbon financing markets as a way to not only fight greenhouse gases, but also to promote the millennium development goals. I would encourage people to read The Temas Blog about this:
http://www.temasactuales.com/temasblog/?p=359
How long will you wait to support him? He can only implement the same changes you and I can do right now, otherwise he will have to wait until he's in the oval office to do more. So support him now and get him to a position where he can effect change.
I am (hopefullly) a pragmatist and a 'technology buff'. I think that the thinking needed to address FULLY the crisis ahead, if the WORLD fails to act appropriately, may spell the possible end of human life on Earth as we presently know it and, as some of us, hope it can evolve into.
All plans need short, intermediate and long-term foci. As an example, the issue you addressed recently about terrorism and its control and hopeful solution needs to find ways to (1) use the Militaries of our Nation States PROPERLY and efficaciously, and (2) figure out ways to get a PROPER 'WORLD WIDE' POLICE ACTION orientation built in around the DEEP aspects of the problem, and (3) to set about to penetrate politically, logically, psychologically, philosophically and theologically in ways to get at the ROOT CAUSES for the existence of such seemingly illogical behaviors. What is going on suggests that 'behaviors' of the terroists may be generated by deep senses of INJUSTICE and therefore in some sense are not, to the TERRORISTS, basically illogical. Out politicians everywhere in our WIORLD need to explore the TERRORISM issue DEEPLY. Militaries may help the short term slowing down, but perhaps NEVER find the path to the sustainable SOLUTION! The 'solution' is likely to involve the way people THINK and create their VALUE structures for selves, rather than how they behave.
Now into the 'global warming' and 'carbon problem' and the 'green-house gas' problem. I agree with the points you are making, but the deeper point is that we must start -- in POLITICS -- to THINK with long-term perspectives. Restraints on people's behaviors may or may not work. Legal resrictions can help some, of that I feel certain, but I fail to see how they can be sustained in a WORLD -- via modern day communications and growing awarenesses of the possibilities of gaining much improved 'standards of living' can arise out of political-legal solutions. I know that you have a deeper understanding of the issues than do many of your colleagues and opponents.
Think of our EARTH whirling around (moving always) through space and time. Think of the Einsteinian theoretical surmise and later experimdental findings that atomic masses are chock full of fantastic quantities of energy. IF only ways could be found to harness such (like extant atomic energy (as the price of carbon based molecular strucures go higher and higher (and become depleted)) we might put a dent in the adequacy of long-term supply. Demand is another issue entirely. Think of winds and harnessing those energies. And think of the thermal gradients in our oceans and deep lakes. Biomasses. Solar energy . Then think 'big , big, NEEDS' and SUSTAINABILITY to fill human demands for comfort, travelling, communications and LIGHT.
There was a great article in last week's ECONOMIST about thermal gradients in Lake Erie (as I recall) and the needs for better and cheaper and cleaner 'air conditioning' in the Canadian City of Toronto. Deep waters are 'cool' and can be used to create low temperatures in massive public and private buildings via well known energy transfer methods. The ECONOMIST did a good job, with pictures showing what their planners had done to create a viable relatively 'big' system with appropriate technology. As I understand what else has been going on, Chicago planners have attempted to study possibilities using the gradients in Lake Michigan, but it seems that the Lake is too shalow. As I read on I was asking myself why not then skim the surface of the lakes to get and use the water temperatures near the surface to make the use of carbon based fuels unnecessary at air temperatures less than 32 F degrees since water surface temperatures never go much below that level.
My engineering skills have gradually disappeared as I have aged. I once knew something about technologies back then and I can only guess NOW. But there are these great younger minds and developed SKILLS around ALL OVER THE GLOBE and their futures may depend on their abilities to make these sustainable sources available to us in the intermediate and long term futures. Similarly, anticipating, perhaps horrific price increases of carbon based fuels in the future, it should be clear that our WORLD GOVERNMENTS should take a look at what WE THE PEOPLE NEED, and not depend on the Market and Private Sector Solutions completely (perhaps we need public investing in large developments) .
The need for energy for heat, light and electricity makes energy availability a necessity, and thus a LIFE and DEATH issue, for the survival of personkind everywhere on this planet of ours. This logic makes it a legitimate NATIONAL INTEREST ISSUE, like a WAR. Its very short-sighted and dangerous for our governments not to deal 'head on' with this ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY issue. It also makes our great private energy and utility companies almost derilict by focusing only on profits and neglecting the need to develop RAPIDLY the new sustainable technologies that WE THE PEOPLES OF the USA and the WORLD need soon. Politically we should look at the efficacy of our so-called 'MARKETS' to anticipate future needs and developments. Adding in the desires of many nations to improve their citizens' lives (e.g. Russia, China, India, etc), executives of huge enterprises should be thinking about long-term survival rather than short term profits. We need rapid involvements in Research and Development, and Capital Investments WORLDWIDE NOW! We're talking about human and planetary SURVIVAL.
I could spin this into the IRAN quest to preserve its oil stocks and thus make moves to create a nuclear energy capability (rather than a weapons capability) but at this turn I'll simply suggest that all of you truly sincere politicians start to think globally and long-term with the sustainability of POLICIES always 'front and center. You, as I see you via the lenses of knowledge, credibility, and wisdom, ride high in my belief that you are the thoughtful and concerned type we need for the near future.
Dick Maffei