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On Tuesday evening, for the first time, President Bush acknowledged the threat of global warming during his State of the Union speech. He also presented a plan to increase fuel economy for cars that, if properly implemented, could offer serious cuts in the amount of global warming pollution generated in the United States.
Unfortunately, the president’s proposal to reduce U.S. oil dependence doesn’t go far enough to protect against dangerous global warming. We must set an overall cap on heat-trapping emissions for the entire economy—addressing transportation, electricity, and other sources of pollution. Although the president mentioned “changing the way America generates electric power” including advances in solar and wind energy, he stopped short of advocating for sensible legislation that would require utilities to produce 20 percent of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Furthermore, the president failed to address that technological advances need to be based on unbiased, independent science. America can not effectively address the serious consequences of global warming if our scientists our being stifled by political interference.
While the State of the Union included some positive rhetoric about providing America with the means to build a cleaner, more secure future, the president and Congress must work together to ensure his words become action. Click here for more in-depth analysis.
Climate
Global warming is the greatest environmental challenge of our time. The science is clear and many of the solutions are at hand. To ensure we leave our children and grandchildren a safe climate, Congress and the president need to work together to establish near term cuts in global warming pollution and set long term emission reduction targets aimed at avoiding the worst effects of global warming. More…
Clean Vehicles
Although the president addressed the need for “technological breakthroughs…to confront the serious challenge of global climate change,” developing that technology and understanding the true scope of this challenge requires independent science free from political interference. This Tuesday, UCS will testify before the new Congress to help advance meaningful reforms that will restore scientific integrity to federal policy making. More…
Filed under: activism, Global Warming, Green Party Websites, nature, president Tagged: | book of the month, nature, Uncategorized
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