Global Climate Issues Important to Independents
Posted on November 24, 2007 - Filed Under News
The US presidential candidates are focusing their position on global warming, the second-most-important issue for independent voters.
Environmental issues are typically low on the list of public concerns when choosing candidates and presidents. But independent voters – a key to winning the open primaries and general election – view energy independence and climate change as very important, according to a survey cited in The New York Times.
“After immigration, reducing oil dependence and global warming is the second-most-important issue among independent voters, said Daniel J. Weiss, the director of climate strategy for the Center for American Progress Action Fund…. Mr. Weiss cited a Democracy Corps poll released last month, which also found that among Democrats, it is the fourth-most-important issue.”
Democrats and climate experts are urging cutting greenhouse gases dramatically – 80 percent from 1990s levels by 2050,, says a Washington Post story.
“All of the leading Democratic contenders for the presidency are committed to a set of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions that would change the way Americans light their homes, fuel their automobiles, and do their jobs, costing billions of dollars in the short term…. Americans could be paying 30 percent more for natural gas in their homes and even more for electricity. At the same time, the cost of coal could quadruple, and crude oil prices could rise by an additional $24 a barrel.”
Even so-called “green states,” such as Oregon and Washington, will find the transition difficult, according to a new analysis by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council cited in The Oregonian newspaper.
“It would mean eliminating reliable and inexpensive coal power – roughly 20 percent of the Northwest supply – even as a booming population demands more energy. ‘It’s going to be a lot harder than people think,’ said Terry Morlan, director of power planning at the council, which Congress created to monitor the region’s energy needs. ‘You have to not only offset a lot of what you already use, but you have to come up with new sources of power on top of it.’”
Candidates of both major parties – many of whom are or have been members of Congress – understand just how difficult it may be to craft effective legislation to shift from fossil fuels to nonpolluting energy sources in order to at least slow the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.