A Republican who wants action on clean energy makes sense....

Today's post: Wednesday, 2-10-2010

We need an 80% reduction in fossil fuel use by 2050 to avoid the worst global warming effects. And, practically speaking, we need to also double our electricity generation and double the useful work done per unit of electricity & other energy sources as well during that same time to have a decent economy.

At some point, the oil that we’ve been using to power much of our economy will begin to run low enough that our world economy will shrink due to lack of supply or excessive costs or both.

And, once the demand for oil picks up again with the apparent economic recovery or supply begins to plateau or drop, the prices will again go back up. That will cause more hard times economically unless we have enough alternative sources of energy to turn to.

Further, it’s extremely clear that the most supported and economically beneficial solution to add energy that does not use oil nor burn fossil fuels to release more CO2 into air that already has too much is to build massive amounts of new renewable energy production, particularly those that generate electricity & to dramatically increase energy efficiency and reduce the amount of energy that is now wasted.

And, of those, the more important long range solution is to build massive amounts of new renewable energy generation.

Today’s post:

Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina recently said the following.

This is an excerpt of his remarks to Business Advocacy Day for Jobs, Climate & New Energy Leadership in Washington DC recently.:

"Every day we wait in this nation China is going to eat our lunch. The Chinese don't need 60 votes. I guess they just need 1 guy’s vote over there - and that guy's voted.

He has decided to do two things:

First, kind of play footsie with us on emissions control stuff -- but go like gangbusters when it comes to producing alternative energy.

The solar and wind and battery-powered cars” (industry) “is an amazing thing to watch. And we're stuck in neutral here.

So my message to you - you're up here to advocate - advocate. Let the Congress know that you want a comprehensive approach to two serious problems.

You don't have to believe that Iowa is going to become beachfront property to want to clean up carbon.

It is not about polar bears to me, it's about jobs. I like the polar bears as much as anyone else but I want to create jobs.

If just a fraction of what is being predicted about global warming is true, that's enough to motivate us all. But if the worst thing you did - as Tony Blair would say - is you provided a cleaner environment, I don't think you'd go down in history in a bad way.

The key in my view to those who believe we should address carbon pollution is to make sure that the energy initiatives that will get us there are done in a package.

If you break this apart you'll have a watered down solution on both fronts.

Health care was big - it was controversial - I didn't like the bill - but that doesn't mean you can't do other hard problems.

If lesson from health care is let's not do anything hard, then why don't we all go home, which might be good for the country by the way.

But if we go home, China won't.

The world is moving, pollution is growing, we've got a chance to get ahead and lead. If we wait too long and if we try to take half measures as the preferred route on all these hard problems they just get worse.

My challenge to you and to myself is to not let this moment pass. This is the best opportunity I've seen in my political lifetime for a Republican and Democrat to do something bold and meaningful.

Why did I get involved in this? I ask myself that a lot. I saw an opportunity. I've become convinced that carbon pollution is a bad thing, not a good thing, and it can be dealt with, and we can create jobs.

This is the time, this is the Congress, and this is the moment. So if we retreat and try to just go to the energy only approach which will never yield the legislative results that I want on energy independence, then we just made the problem worse.

What Congress is going to come up here and do all these hard things?
Who are these people in the future? Because we constantly count on them. I don't know who they are. I've yet to find them.

So I guess it falls to me and you. So let's do it.

The time to act on a comprehensive bill is now."

I just hope his fellow Republicans, or at least enough them, follow his lead.

And, I hope the Democrats are willing to add the other solutions to clean energy and to energy independence some of those Republicans support in order to get the compromise bill passed that Democrat John Kerry and Republican Lindsay Graham have proposed that does both a good job on renewable energy and includes those things.

If we do both, we will make strong progress on increasing our real and our effective energy supply. That will create jobs all over our economy and help prevent inflation and energy shortages that would slow our economy. We will also improve our energy independence.

And, even though, it will include some offshore drilling for oil, it will do so much more good to decrease CO2 release that the smaller increase from burning that new oil supply is, in my mind, very clearly justified.

So, whoever your Senators are, please ask them to support and vote for Senator Kerry and Graham’s bill.