President Bush will lay out his "principles" on climate change at a press conference today. Many are saying that he is finally trying to make an attempt to stay relevant when the movement in Congress heading toward legislation regulating carbon emissions. But neither the president nor congress are making the steps that James Hansen says are necessary to avert catastrophic climate change. With James Hansen setting the goal at 350 ppm, the movement in the federal government is more of a budge than a step.
Coal is the number one target. Coal generates approximately 40% of the world's electricity-about half of America's. This energy comes at a price. Burning coal produces carbon dioxide, the gas most responsible for creating the greenhouse effect that is changing our climate. Yet coal is the cheapest and most abundant of the fossil fuels, and its worldwide use is soaring. Across the country, the battle lines are drawn at the foot of coal-burning power plants, and the activists are winning. But the biggest target is Dominions 1.8 billion coal-burning plant in Wise County.
"Concern about global warming is rising. Coal is on its way out," says renowned climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen. "A governor who acts on both of these truths will go down in history as a true visionary."
Hansen has waded into the Virginia campaign by signing the Mile-Long Petition against the plant and highlighting its importance in the national debate. "I have become involved in several coal-fired power plant cases, including ones in my home state of Iowa, because it has become clear that emissions from coal-fired power plants will be the single most dominant factor in determining the nature of our future climate and our planetary legacy for our children and grandchildren," said Dr. Hansen. "This Virginia case is important because it is near-term. We need a moratorium on coal-fired power plants now, until technology is ready to capture all emissions, including carbon dioxide."
Want to help us stop the plant? Go here. Despite the federal government's virtual standstill on climate change, democracy can still happen in this state. Sign the petition, share your voice, and let's get look forward to the new leadership coming to town.
A key Democrat in the US House of Representatives said Wednesday that President Bush's speech on climate change, which is scheduled later Wednesday, will help lay the groundwork that would allow an emissions trading program to pass his subcommittee and eventually get signed into law."That statement, I believe, is going to send a positive signal," said Rick Boucher of Virginia, who heads the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality. Boucher's subcommittee is the starting point for climate legislation in the House.
"The statement that I think will be coming from the president this afternoon, I believe will be very helpful in helping to create that bipartisan cooperation," he said. "If it does, you will see a draft emerge of climate change legislation very quickly from our committee."
Boucher remained firm on having an economy-wide cap-and-trade program that would include the power sector, transportation and industry. He said it was insufficient to aim for a power utility-only program, which is something that the White House could suggest.
"I don't think we ought to be satisfied with addressing one third of the economy," he told reporters Wednesday outside of an event the Alliance to Save Energy hosted in Washington.
In his speech on climate change, which is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at the White House Rose Garden, President Bush is expected to announce general emissions reduction goals, with little in the way of firm policy proposals.
The Senate is working on a bill that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions 70% of 2005 levels by 2050. Boucher has said that his goal -- 60% to 80% of current levels by 2050 -- will be more palatable to Republicans because the intermediate goals are less stringent than in the Senate bill.
Boucher said his bill will have modest emissions reductions out to 2025 based on the pace of development for carbon capture and storage at coal-fired power plants.
And considering Bush's lame duck status and the eventual election of any one of the three who have more green views on the climate, we might find many Republican Congressmen and women act quite surprisingly different this summer.