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February 16, 2005
The Kyoto Protocol—the first major international effort to stop global warming—goes into effect today. One hundred forty nations have signed the accord but not the United States. Although the U.S. produces one-quarter of the world's greenhouse gases responsible for the increase in the earth's temperature, the Bush administration refuses to abide by these standards leaving a gaping hole in the compact.
- The Bush administration favors polluters over public health and environmental stewardship. The White House has pushed excuse after excuse to protect big polluters from cleaning up their act. President Bush—reversing an explicit campaign pledge in 2000—now vehemently imposes any mandatory limits on carbon dioxide, which causes global warming. In fact, the White House won't even admit there is a problem. White House spokesman Scott McClellan defended the administration's inaction yesterday stating, saying "we are still learning about the science of climate change."
- Cleaner energy policies would help to create thousands of jobs, increase wages and save consumers billions of dollars. A new study by U.S. PIRG finds that clean and renewable energy requirements would create a net annual average of 154,589 jobs from 2005-2020; increase wages by $6.8 billion in 2020; and save consumers $16.2 billion on electricity bills in 2020. Clean energy is a job producer and energy saver, not a threat to America's economy.
- We must do more now to stop the dangerous effects of global climate change. The International Climate Change Task Force—co-chaired by Sen. Olympia Snow (R-ME) and sponsored by the Center for American Progress—recently issued a report outlining series of concrete, practical steps to prevent global the average temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Without steps to reduce the earth's temperature, we can expect a rash of droughts, floods, wildfires, severe weather and disease. Earlier this month, an international conference of scientists held at the Hadley Center in the United Kingdom warned that a delay of even five years could be significant and harm our chances of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations at a safe level.
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund.
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Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
