The Three Musketeers of Global Warming
This entry was posted on 11/21/2007 10:00 PM and is filed under Tax Shifting,Economy,Global Warming,OIL,Leadership,Global Peak Oil,Action,Energy dependence.
There are leaders emerging in the battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Three Governors are calling on Congress to act now. Global warming is, of course, primarily a federal issue.
Unfortunately, they suggest capping greenhouse gas pollution instead of just shifting taxes, but it's a start.
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From the Wall Street Journal Online - November 15, 2007
Governors Push Washington on Climate Change (watch the 30 second tv ad -- link in article)
Excerpts:
"In an effort to ratchet up pressure on Congress to move quickly on comprehensive climate-change legislation, a bipartisan group of three governors appear in a $3 million television advertising campaign starting next Tuesday. “Climate change, it’s a test of leadership,” says Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California in the ad, which also features Govs. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, and John Huntsman, a Republican. “In state after state we’re taking action. Now it’s time for Congress to act by capping greenhouse-gas pollution."
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) made climate change a top legislative priority when Democrats took control of the chamber in January. Pelosi originally promised to have a comprehensive bill on the floor by July 4, but Congress has yet to approve a bill."
".....a recent poll commissioned by Environmental Defense that suggests that the issue has strong support among independent and swing voters in 49 congressional districts. The poll, conducted by Republican pollster Whit Ayers, showed that a majority of those voters would be more inclined to vote for a candidate who supports climate change legislation."
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BONUS:
We've got problems here (not a surprise) -
From an AP-Yahoo! News survey taken this month (connected to Election 08):
Happy in their personal lives, Americans worry about country
"Democrats and Republicans differ when defining the key issues. Democrats list the economy and health care followed by Iraq, while Republicans name three equally—terrorism, the economy and Iraq."
So, neither global warming nor our dependence on foreign energy made either group's top three.
One problem: global warming and our dependence on foreign energy (and peak oil) are accelerating in their threat to our economy. In a very short time period (1 year?, 5 years?) these two problems will define our economy. It's happening now....oil just hit $99/barrel. What are the other upcoming signals for us to watch for? We know they are coming; it's when, not if. Why not act decisively now by enacting a phased-in, federal tax shift from income to non-renewable energy? The sooner we address an escalating problem, the easier it is to fix.
Second problem: Iraq is listed as a key issue for both groups, but the cause of our Iraq invasion (our addiction to oil) is not listed as an issue. Time to wake up.
