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NRDC calls on President Bush to
Get Serious about Taking Global Warming
Seriously
Group Finds Voluntary Programs to Reduce
Global Warming Pollution Do Not Work
WASHINGTON (June 11, 2001) - NRDC (Natural Resources
Defense Council) today called on President Bush to demonstrate
that he takes global warming seriously with actions rather
than words. The president gave a speech this morning on global
warming and will meet with European leaders this week to
discuss the issue.
"President Bush says he takes global warming seriously, but
he is stalling instead of acting to cut global warming
pollution," said David Hawkins, director of NRDC's Climate
Center. "The Bush energy plan, which calls for burning more
fossil fuels, would actually accelerate global warming. A
serious plan, on the other hand, would cut global warming
pollution from coal and gasoline and increase our reliance on
energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. We have the
technology, what we need is political leadership."
NRDC outlined five ways to measure whether the president is
really serious about addressing global warming.
- Serious reductions in global warming pollution from
power plants. The president must repair his broken
campaign promise to control all four pollutants, including
carbon dioxide, from electric power generation. Exempting
carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, is akin to
entering a three-legged horse in the Kentucky Derby. That's
not serious.
- Serious reductions in global warming pollution from
automobiles. Higher fuel efficiency means lower carbon
dioxide emissions, yet the fuel efficiency of new vehicles
is at its lowest point since 1980. A new standard of 40
miles per gallon for all passenger vehicles is what's
needed. The Bush energy plan only promised to think about
starting a process to think about raising fuel efficiency
standards. That's not serious.
- Serious increases in renewable energy. An energy
plan to fight global warming should require increasing the
amount of electricity produced from renewable sources to 20
percent by 2020. But the president's plan makes only vague
promises to promote renewable energy. That's not
serious.
- Serious increases in energy efficiency. The
fastest, cheapest and cleanest way to meet our energy needs
is to increase the energy efficiency of our homes, offices
and factories by setting higher standards and offering more
incentives. The Bush energy plan talks about conservation
but places nearly all its eggs in the basket of ever more
energy production. That's not serious.
- Serious international leadership. The United
States is responsible for 25 percent of global warming
pollution, yet has only 5 percent of the world's population.
We should be leading the world by significantly reducing
domestic emissions, instead of blocking international action
by abandoning the Kyoto Protocol. The Bush policy blames the
world's poorest countries. That's not serious.
"We can't afford to spend another decade just conducting
research and pleading with companies to take voluntary action
while emissions continue to rise," said Daniel Lashof,
director of science for NRDC's Climate Center. "If the
president wants to be taken seriously on global warming at
home and abroad, he must take decisive action to reduce global
warming pollution."
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a
national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and
environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public
health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more
than 400,000 members nationwide, served from offices in New
York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Related NRDC Pages
Voluntary
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs Are Not Enough
Additional Downloadable Material for the
Press
President
Bush Versus National Academy of Sciences on Global Warming
in Microsoft Word format, 84k