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 Dear Phillip, Pop quiz: Name one good thing a Republican presidential candidate has done about global warming. I'll give you a minute to think... If you couldn't come up with an answer, don't worry -- you're not alone. The fact is, they simply do not seem to care about the serious impact of global climate change. But that's on par with Republican leadership in Washington. Until recently, President Bush was skeptical that global warming even existed. The President's state of denial has only made the problem worse, and each day that passes brings us closer to a climate disaster. We can't let our next president ignore this growing problem. Show your support for making global warming a central issue in the 2008 campaign: http://www.democrats.org/EndGlobalWarming President Bush promised to cut our dependence on foreign oil, reduce our carbon output, and increase our use of renewable energy. But then he opposed mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions, and failed to push for renewable energy benchmarks. Just yesterday, Bush said he would lay out new rules to "cut gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles" -- but only after the government studied the impact that new rules would have on safety, scientific knowledge, available technology and cost. The Supreme Court has already ruled that this sort of "laundry list" is insufficient. Like President Bush, the 2008 Republican presidential hopefuls pay lip service to the climate crisis, but when the time comes for action, they balk. Mitt Romney, John McCain, Tom Tancredo, and Sam Brownback have all opposed strict fuel efficiency standards. Mike Huckabee has expressed doubts about humans' role in causing global warming. And McCain, while sponsoring a bill capping carbon emissions, has opposed renewable energy standards. We need to make sure the 2008 presidential candidates are serious about reducing our greenhouse gases and boosting renewable energy. Show your support for making global warming a top priority in the campaign: http://www.democrats.org/EndGlobalWarming President Bush and Congressional Republicans had six years to work on a solution to climate change, and they did nothing. They don't consider global warming a priority, and our children and grandchildren will pay the price. Fortunately, the new Democratic majority in Congress is working hard on finding a solution. One of Speaker Pelosi's first actions was to create a special committee on global warming. In the Senate, Barbara Boxer and Jeff Bingaman have each introduced bill that would drastically increase renewable energy use in the US. Compare these actions with those of the Bush Administration: an energy bill written by Dick Cheney and his oil industry cronies; an EPA that refused to regulate greenhouse gases until the Supreme Court ruled it was negligent; and a new plan to expand oil drilling in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and off the coast of Virginia. This is what you get when the country's leaders don't understand the global warming crisis -- or simply don't care. Join the Democratic Party in making global warming a top priority in the 2008 campaign: http://www.democrats.org/EndGlobalWarming Words alone will not solve the global warming crisis. It's up to you to make sure our next president will take action. Sincerely, Gov. Howard Dean, M.D. | ||||
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