[GPRI] FW: [usgp-dx] Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act

[Greg Gerritt]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Greg Gerritt <gerritt at mindspring.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:06:35 -0400
To: Mato Ska <m_zehr at hotmail.com>, national comm affairs
<natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org>, <ecology_gpus at yahoogroups.com>, Greens Not
Dems <greensnotdems at yahoogroups.com>
Conversation: [usgp-dx] Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act
Subject: Re: [usgp-dx] Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act

Interesting that they refer to it as the gold standard.  My slogan is 280 or
busted.  We can not leave 450 ppm in the atmosphere, our goal needs to be
the 280 ppm that there was in the atmosphere prior to the industrial
revolution.  And to reach that we need to reduce by 90% in 20 years so that
the natural processes of the planet can work to reduce CO2 levels.
Acceptance of a 450 equilibrium is acquiescing to disaster.

Greg gerritt gpri


on 3/20/07 9:30 PM, Mato Ska at m_zehr at hotmail.com wrote:

> Safe Climate Act Best Chance to Avert Dangerous Climate Change, Scientists
> Say
> More than 120 House members today will reintroduce the Safe Climate Act,
> which offers the best opportunity to protect future generations from the
> worst effects of global warming, according to the Union of Concerned
> Scientists (UCS). The bipartisan bill, spearheaded by Henry Waxman
> (D-Calif.), calls for an 80 percent reduction of global warming pollution
> from 1990 levels by 2050, a cut that UCS scientists say is necessary to
> avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
> ³The Safe Climate Act's reduction targets match the magnitude and urgency of
> the global warming threat,² said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and
> policy at UCS. ³This bill will help secure a healthy world for our children
> and grandchildren.²
> Global warming already is causing more severe storms, heat waves, droughts
> and speeding up the spread of water- and pest-borne diseases. Considerable
> scientific evidence indicates that an additional warming of 2 degrees
> Fahrenheit or more above today's levels would greatly exacerbate these and
> other dangerous threats to public health and the environment. Sustained
> warming above this level also poses the risk of large-scale, irreversible
> changes, including the extinction of many species and a sea level rise of as
> much as 20 feet resulting from the destruction of the Greenland and West
> Antarctic ice sheets.
> Alternatively, if the nations of the world cut global warming pollution
> sufficiently to prevent concentrations of heat-trapping gases from exceeding
> 450 parts per million (ppm CO2 equivalent), we may be able to keep further
> global average temperature increases below 2 degrees F and avoid the most
> damaging effects of global warming.
> Staying under the 450 ppm threshold would require cutting global emissions
> roughly in half from today's levels by mid-century. Given that the United
> States leads the world in both absolute and per capita emissions, Americans
> must achieve even deeper reductions.
> Because heat-trapping emissions remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of
> years, the world is facing an increase of more than 1 degree F no matter
> what policies are enacted. In other words, the globe is nearly half way to
> the threshold beyond which we could see the worst effects of climate change.
> That's why the  federal government must act soon to achieve serious
> reductions in global warming emissions across all sectors of the economy.
> Congress currently is considering several climate change bills that call for
> varying levels of emissions reductions, but according to UCS experts the
> Safe Climate Act and the Senate's Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act ­
> whose primary sponsors are Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Bernie Sanders
> (I-Vt.) ­ provide the best chance of staying below a 2 degrees F temperature
> increase above today's levels. Both bills require a gradual but deep
> reduction of U.S. global warming emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels
> by 2050.
> The Safe Climate Act would freeze global warming emissions at 2009 levels in
> 2010, and then reduce them by approximately 2 percent per year from 2011 to
> 2020. These cuts could be achieved using existing renewable energy, energy
> efficiency, and clean vehicles technologies, according to UCS. After 2020,
> the bill would require emissions cuts of about 5 percent annually, as more
> advanced technologies become widely available.
> To help achieve these reductions, the Waxman bill requires energy efficiency
> improvements, increased reliance on renewable energy, and cleaner cars.  The
> bill also provides flexibility to help companies meet the
> pollution-reduction goals through a "cap-and-trade" program.
> In addition to protecting future generations from the worst effects of
> global warming, these policies also would help to reduce U.S. dependence on
> oil, improve air quality, and protect pristine places from oil drilling.
> 
> http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/waxman-global-warming-0017.html
> 
> 
> 
> Global Warming 'Gold Standard' Legislation Unveiled
> 
> Statement of Betsy Loyless, Senior Vice President, National Audubon Society
> 
>     WASHINGTON, March 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a
> statement released today by Betsy Loyless, senior vice president of the
> National Audubon Society:
>     "Rep. Henry Waxman's Safe Climate Act is the plan that gives the U.S.
> its best chance at successfully addressing the global warming problem. I
> believe it is the gold standard that will define the debate in Congress,
> and I hope it is enacted this year.
>     "Rep. Waxman's bill hits the sweet spot by gradually reducing global
> warming pollution in a way that sets an example for the rest of the world.
> Rather than being a half-measure, this bill will successfully ensure our
> energy, economic, environmental and national security needs for the future
> are fully satisfied."
>     MORE INFORMATION
>     The Safe Climate Act was introduced today with over 120 original
> cosponsors. The bill has been made public on "Climate Crisis Action Day," a
> lobbying event and demonstration sponsored by conservation groups.
>     The bill would gradually reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990
> levels by 2050. The Waxman bill would cut emissions from sources such as
> cars and power plants at the levels we need to avoid the worst effects of
> global warming.
>     On the Senate side, many environmental groups are lining up in support
> of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act (S. 309), led by Senator
> Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
> Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA). Similar to Waxman bill, S. 309 would gradually
> reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
>     More information on global warming can be found at
> http://www.audubon.org/globalWarming/.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Get on the Bus for Global Warming
> Thousands of concerned citizens will get on buses in seven states on
> Tuesday, March 20, for the Climate Crisis Action Day Rally. Destination: the
> West Lawn of the Capitol. Purpose: deliver a message in person to Members of
> Congress that we need to get serious and solve the global warming threat.
> Buses will bring people in from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
> Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. Sign up today and get on the
> bus!
> The action day begins at 11 am on the West Lawn of the Capitol. Get revved
> up at the rally and then join others from your area to let your elected
> leaders know it is time to solve the global warming problem.
> Global Warming Legislation Gets Going in Congress
> The debate over the reality of global warming has ended. The February 2007
> Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (IPCC), compiled by more
> than 2500 experts from 130 countries, concluded that ³most of the warming
> observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities.²
> Some Members of Congress are taking the threat of global warming seriously
> and several bills have been introduced. The "gold standard" in the Senate is
> the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2007 (S 309), introduced by
> Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Environment and Public Works Chair Barbara Boxer
> (D-CA), and nine cosponsors. We need 60 votes to pass this bill.
> S 309 would:
> Set an aggressive timeline to cut emissions to the level that scientists say
> is needed to avoid the worst consequences of global warming,
> Address emissions from power plants and cars, and
> Encourage energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources.
> Over on the House side, Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) will soon
> reintroduce his bill, the Safe Climate Act. Last year this bill gained 113
> cosponsors. This year we hope to do even better.
> The Waxman bill will contain many of the same kinds of provisions found in
> the Senate bill. Both bills take slightly different routes but they both aim
> to reduce global warming pollution by between 60% and 80% by 2050.
> It will take a lot of grassroots muscle to get these bills to the floor and
> finally to the President's desk for signature. The good news is the drum
> beat on global warming has begun and is getting louder by the day. Help us
> keep the momentum going on these and other global warming-related bills.
> Watch for an action alert soon and let your lawmakers know where you stand.
> Opposition to Jet Landing Field Near Wildlife Refuge Grows Stronger
> The U.S. Navy has proposed once again to put a jet landing field right next
> to the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern North Carolina,
> winter home to 100,000 swans and geese. It is also home to numerous black
> bears, and the country¹s only population of endangered red wolves, as well
> as Bald Eagles and millions of other birds. The conflict between jets and
> birds is inevitable. A recent court-ordered supplemental report reveals just
> how far the Navy may have to go to try to make the site work: stripping
> forage crops from 20,000 acres, harassing, and even poisoning birds that
> might interfere with the jets. Now, North Carolina Governor Easley has
> joined the chorus calling for the Navy to abandon this disastrous idea. Only
> leaders in Congress can stop this plan now‹watch for an alert from us soon.
> 
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