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#3 Energy and Global Warming

Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for Governor of Illinois
Cell phone 924-4308, candidate@whitneyforgov.org
http://www.whitneyforgov.org

Transcript

(Mr. Whitney addresses energy policy, global warming, and Green solutions to the growing climate crisis. The text below represents a longer version of his video rebuttal to President Bush's State of the Union speech.)

Hi, I'm Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for Governor of Illinois. Let's take an honest look at the real State of the Union regarding our nation's use of energy.

To put it bluntly, the situation is critical. Hurricane Katrina was just one of many warning signs that global warming now poses grave dangers to the planet. The era of cheap oil is obviously moving toward a close, posing grave dangers to our economy. Our political leaders ought to be alarmed - yet they continue to fiddle while the planet burns.

The response of the Bush administration and the Republican and Democratic leadership to this dual crisis is astoundingly irresponsible. It reminds me of a man whose house is on fire - and his response is, "Gee, maybe I should start shopping for a sprinkler system. Or maybe not."

Granted, the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina was compounded by the Bush Administration's shocking indifference to its victims. Not only did it disregard warnings and respond slowly; when it did respond, its forced evictions and actual obstruction of the delivery of food, water and aid to New Orleans shows that it used the disaster to promote gentrification by military force.

Republicans and Democrats alike have consistently sided with corporate interests against the right of poor and African American residents of New Orleans to return home. In sharp contrast, dozens of Green Party activists, led by Leenie Halbert, Andrea Garland, and Malik Rahim, have worked hard to provide relief, security, and safe returns home.

Katrina and the record 2005 hurricane season weren't freak accidents. Since the 1970s, tropical storms in both the Atlantic and Pacific have increased in duration and intensity by about 50 percent. 2005 was one of the two hottest years in recorded history. Nineteen of the hottest 20 years have occurred since 1980. It is a fact that the polar ice caps and glaciers of the world are melting. It is a fact that permafrost in the northern tundra is thawing, releasing even more greenhouse gases. Industrially generated global warming is a fact, recognized by nearly every scientist not on the payroll of the oil companies - and yet, the leadership of the two corporate parties continue to bury their head in the sand (probably looking for more oil).

What we saw when Katrina and Rita struck cities and towns on the Gulf coast last year is just a hint of the future disasters to come -- if we don't take real steps to curb global warming and break our addiction to oil and other fossil fuels.

An overwhelming majority of scientists warn that the Kyoto agreement goal, of a 5% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2012 - is severely inadequate. They urge a 70% reduction. The Green Party supports this goal. Yet the Bush administration refuses to even sign on to the Kyoto agreement.

Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have caved in to the demands of Big Oil, Big Auto and the highway lobby. For example, the corporate media didn't report it much, but average fuel economy for all 2006 motor vehicles actually declined from 2005. The figures came out just a few days after the House Rules Committee blocked an attempt to require an increase in fuel economy standards of 10% by 2016. This outrage illustrates how irresponsible corporations and their political prostitutes in Congress and the White House are taking us in the wrong direction. And the Big Three Auto makers wonder why their business is in decline!

Meanwhile, even though rail transit is far more energy efficient and far less polluting than travel by automobile; even though a billion dollars spent on rail transit creates 7,000 more jobs than a billion dollars spent on highways, our Republican president and his Democrat Transportation Secretary are moving in the wrong direction; they are actually trying to de-fund and dismantle AmTrak.

Our reliance on oil and other fossil fuels, and on the automobile as the chief mode of transportation, hasn't only damaged the environment. Now it is harming the living standards of working and especially lower-income Americans, struggling to afford skyrocketing home heating bills and gas prices.

The corporate drive to keep us addicted to oil has also led the Bush Administration and its Republican and Democratic partners in crime to involve us in a disastrous campaign to dominate the globe - including the present illegal, immoral and costly war in Iraq. As long as we remain dependent on fossil fuels, we'll face more and more international conflict over dwindling resources. Therefore, the struggle against global warming and fossil fuel addiction is part of the struggle for peace and real security for America and the world.

To be sure, in his State of the Union address, President Bush did acknowledge that "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world" and set a goal of reducing Middle East oil imports by 75 percent by 2025. However, there are at least three gigantic problems with his policy proposals, such as they are.

First, reducing "oil imports" only addresses one aspect of the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, which are produced by any combustion of fossil fuels in general.

Second, Bush only called for a relatively modest 22 percent increase in research. While we certainly don't oppose research into new energy technologies as a general proposition, this is woefully inadequate in light of the seriousness of the crisis.

Third, Bush's prescription indicated that a considerable focus of the research would be directed toward "zero-emission coal-fired plants" and "clean, safe nuclear energy" - an oxymoron if ever we heard one, considering that a means to safely store or dispose of tons of existing highly radioactive nuclear waste has yet to be found. Again, we do not oppose research, per se, on any energy technology. What we do oppose is more of this administration's misplaced priorities. Specifically, we oppose the diversion of an already inadequate, modest boost in research into the pursuit of delusory projects that are among the least promising, in terms of addressing the crisis of oil dependency and global warming. This diversion is obviously aimed more at bailing out Bush's allies, the giant energy corporations that have already invested heavily in coal and nuclear power, than in seriously addressing the crisis.

What is really needed is a major, historic national and international initiative against global warming. In my own campaign in Illinois, I describe it as a "New Deal" for sustainable energy development - because a serious effort to build a sustainable energy future is not only necessary for all life on the planet; it will be good for our economy, creating hundreds of thousands of new, quality jobs.

By "sustainable energy," I mean conversion from fossil fuels and nuclear power to safe, clean, renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and fuel cell technologies. Equally important are energy conservation and efficiency, including energy-efficient transportation. The savings to businesses and consumers alike would provide more disposable income, stimulating our lackluster economy. If we make the effort, we could turn a negative into a positive.

Here in Illinois, I will be campaigning for grants, subsidies, tax incentives and purchasing requirements to support solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energy production. If elected, I will get us on the right track, so that we meet and exceed the goal of 20 percent renewable energy by the year 2020. And speaking of getting on the right track, I will work hard to develop energy efficient mass transit, including high-speed rail and light rail.

These kinds of initiatives are needed at the federal level as well - and the Green Party will be fighting for them in 2006. The Green Party is well suited to lead the charge. Unlike the Democratic and Republican parties, we do not accept corporate campaign contributions. We are building a true party of the people because we want to restore government of, by and for the people, instead of government dominated by big money.

The American people deserve a better choice than the choice between two corporate-run parties - the party that gave us the lies of Bill Clinton and the party that gave us the lies of George Bush. They deserve a better choice than a Republican leadership that is shameless and a Democratic leadership that is spineless.

In 2006, you can help get America on the right path toward both energy security and global peace by getting involved and supporting the Green Party and its candidates.

Thank you.

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