John Edwards' "green-collar" America | A New Energy Economy

[Sapphire Blue]

John Edwards' "green-collar" America

The presidential contender wants to create a million environment-friendly jobs, and end a destructive oil addiction.

By Amanda Griscom Little


Aug. 13, 2007 | John Edwards has gone to great lengths to outshine the top Democratic candidates with an aggressive environmental platform. On the 2008 campaign trail, this blue-collar defender has painted himself as a bleeding-heart greenie.

The first candidate to call for an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 and the first to make his campaign carbon neutral, Edwards has had a pied-piper effect on the other Dem contenders, prompting them to make similar pledges. He has also set himself apart with his call for a freeze on all development of coal power plants until they can be outfitted with carbon-sequestration technology. But the former senator from North Carolina runs with the pack in his enthusiasm for corn ethanol, and his green mantle is a fairly new accessory.

How committed is Edwards to his new green vision? To find out, I caught up with the candidate on his cellphone as he hurtled through the fields of rural Iowa in his campaign bus.

For more info on his platform and record, check out this Edwards fact sheet.


You were the first presidential candidate to call for reducing U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions 80 percent by 2050, and you were the first to make your campaign carbon neutral. What inspired these pledges?

What inspired me is that the world is at crisis on this issue of climate change. It requires action now. I feel a personal responsibility and also a responsibility as a candidate for president to lead on these huge issues that face the country and the world, and there is none bigger than this one. Without American leadership, nothing will happen.


What makes you the strongest candidate on energy and the environment?

I'm not waiting to see what other candidates say, or what the political climate is. I believe that you have to lead if you want to be president of the United States. That's the reason I came out early with a very bold plan to address climate change. So I think if you want to know who is the most likely candidate to lead in a serious way on this issue, look at who is leading throughout the campaign.


Can you give some examples of what makes your platform stronger than other candidates'?

First of all, the 80 percent reduction by 2050 is aggressive. I think it is completely achievable, but it is clearly aggressive. So is the banning of the building of any additional coal-fired power plants, until and if the carbon-sequestration technology is available. And the plan to make America producer of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the planet.

The most central point I'd make is that all of us have to take responsibility in order to address an issue like climate change. The great movements in American history -- and it is certainly true of the green movement -- didn't begin in the Oval Office, they began out here in America where people with convictions spoke out and stood their ground.


Continued @ http://www.salon.com:80/news/feature/2007/08/13/edwards_qa/

A New Energy Economy
JOHN EDWARDS 08

The League of Conservation Voters, which has not yet endorsed a candidate for president, described Edwards' plan as the "most comprehensive global warming plan of any presidential candidate to date."

"Senator Edwards' plan demonstrates that he understands the magnitude of the challenge before us and the need for bold leadership to meet it," LCV President Gene Karpinski said.

"Our generation must be the one that says, 'we must halt global warming,'" said Edwards. "If we don't act now, it will be too late. Our generation must be the one that says 'yes' to alternative, renewable fuels and ends forever our dependence on foreign oil. Our generation must be the one that accepts responsibility for conserving natural resources and demands the tools to do it. And our generation must be the one that builds the New Energy Economy. It won't be easy, but it is time to ask the American people to be patriotic about something other than war."

Edwards believes that with American ingenuity and resolve we can turn the crisis of global warming into an opportunity—ending our dependence on foreign oil and creating a new energy economy that embraces innovation, brings rural communities back to life and creates new, good-paying jobs.

The Edwards Plan halts global warming, achieves energy independence and jumpstarts a new energy economy by:

Capping greenhouse gas pollution starting in 2010 with a cap-and-trade system, and reducing it by 15 percent by 2020 and 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 reduce 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 reductions.

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.

Click here for more details of John Edwards' plan to Achieve Energy Independence & Stop Global Warming Through A New Energy Economy


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http://johnedwards.com/issues/energy/

Transformational Change For America And The World - JOHN EDWARDS for PRESIDENT 2008

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:
:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

A true revolution of values

"I'm proposing we set a national goal of eliminating poverty in the next 30 years." - JOHN EDWARDS 08

"If you call wanting to give everybody a chance 'class warfare,' then so be it. That's what I'm for." - JOHN EDWARDS 08

"Every time another radical Republican running for president speaks, the American people are reminded of how out of touch with economic reality they are." - JOHN EDWARDS 08

Building One America Starts in New Orleans - JOHN EDWARDS 08

Silence is Betrayal - JOHN EDWARDS 08

Moral Leadership - JOHN EDWARDS 08

Ending Poverty in America - edited by Senator John Edwards

[frazzled]

1. Too bad his voting record on the environment was so poor

It's amazing that this very same author (Amanda Griscom Little) laid out the facts a bit differently in 2004:

When John Edwards was tapped to be John Kerry's veep, everyone interested in ousting Bush erupted into convulsions of praise – and the enviros were no exception.

"An excellent choice that sends a clear message about the need for change and renewed optimism in our nation's leadership for conservation, public health, and other issues important to the American people," said the League of Conservation Voters.

"Yet another strong environmental leader the Democratic presidential ticket," said Environment2004.

"Sen. Edwards consistently stands up to preserve and strengthen the laws that keep Americans' air, water, and public land clean and safe," said Debbie Sease, the Sierra Club's legislative director.

So it may come as a surprise that Edwards' lifetime voting record on the environment, determined by LCV's scorecard, is 63 percent (that would be a D-) – quite a bit lower than Kerry's 92 percent, one of the highest records in Senate history.

Admittedly, Edwards committed a number of environmental voting gaffes early on in his Senate career, which have caused some in the environmental community to say that only very recently has he become a true believer.

During his first year in office, 1999, he voted in favor of an amendment to allow mountaintop-removal mining practices. Later, he voted to exempt pickup trucks from fuel-efficiency standards and supported the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada (though he has since agreed to support Kerry's position that Yucca shouldn't become a dumping ground). Edwards also voted against an amendment that would have prevented farm subsidies from helping to expand industrial farms, and voted against stricter prohibitions on the use of pesticides in parks.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/19284 /

Once again, Johnny Come Lately

[AnotherGreenWorld]

2. Bingo.

[LaPera]

3. Yes, you're correct dude Edwards is the man, the best! He understands better late than never and is

able to see some voting mistakes and realize change is necessary...as so many Democratic front-runners and we all know who the fucking moderates are, who refuse to even consider making changes in their ideology, platform or their very obvious mistakes.

YOU ARE SO RIGHT DUDE! JOHN EDWARDS IS THE MAN!

Edwards also has a GREAT platform...you should spend some time reading it, you'll even learn some interesting things you've never known about him that you will never learn watching the tube, you'll love him even more! http://johnedwards.com/splash/

[Sapphire Blue]

4. If Edwards is "Once again, Johnny Come Lately", why are the other candidates racing to catch up...

... w/him? John Edwards is essentially setting the agenda for the Democratic Party. He is consistently first in coming up w/detailed & comprehensive plans on virtually every issue... then the other candidates, playing follow the leader, come lagging behind, but no one can match Edwards' proposals in detail & comprehensiveness.

[frazzled]

5. Anyone can hire some policy wonks to come up with proposals

Here's how you judge a candidate:

(a) Look at what they have done with respect to the subjects in their past
(b) Look at their leadership ability, such as having shepherded legislation or agendas to fruition in the past
(c) Look at their integrity and commitment

Comprehensive and detailed plans? Sorry, they're not enough. Being "first"? This isn't junior high.

[Sapphire Blue]

6. "This isn't junior high." Hmmm... "Johnny come lately" sure sounds junior high level.

[hfojvt]

9. that's not how I do it

I like to hear the policies that they are proposing. If anybody can hire those policy wonks, then lets hear some from the other candidates.

part b) sounds like Rudy's campaign theme, that Clinton is echoing. Rudy wants to be a fuehrer (leader). I'd rather have somebody who FOLLOWS a clear mandate from the people on the polcies he/she proposes before the election. Part c) sounds like the Republican's 'character' meme. Not sure how you judge either of those. Nobody has more commitment than W when it comes to enriching the wealthy or 'staying the course' in Iraq. I'd like somebody with the courage to flip-flop when they find they have made a mistake.

[AnotherGreenWorld]

7. No one is trying to catch up with Edwards. That would require going backwards.

[Sapphire Blue]

8. Your 'cute' reply doesn't change the reality that the other candidates are racing to catch up w/him.

However, when the other candidates present their policies, substance is often lacking.