Inslee: Kennedy ‘Got Us To The Moon,’ But ‘Bush’s Energy Policy Wouldn’t Get Us To Cleveland’
Inslee: Kennedy ‘Got Us To The Moon,’ But ‘Bush’s Energy Policy Wouldn’t Get Us To Cleveland’
On Thursday, President Bush will host a meeting of the world’s major emitters of greenhouse gases where he will push them to accept his misguided framework of “voluntary” reductions. Bush is using this meeting as an excuse for skipping yesterday’s conference at the United Nations where world leaders met to lay out an aggressive “road map” once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
Yesterday, ThinkProgress spoke with Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA), who sharply criticized Bush’s decision to skip the U.N. meeting and his destructive global warming policies. “Kennedy got us to the moon,” said Inslee. “George Bush’s energy policy wouldn’t get us to Cleveland.” From the interview:
[Bush] has this hallucination that somehow a voluntary system will cause the huge investment we need in high technology to be made. And we simply know that volunteerism is great for PTA bake sales, but they will not reorder the economic system of the world, and move to a clean energy technology. [...]
But if we continue down this path of George Bush, with the rose-colored glasses, and he can wave his magic wand and suddenly everyone is going to make this investment. That dog just won’t hunt. And we’ve seen this sort of fictional policies before in his optimism that he was going to sprinkle success over Iraq and it’s the same thing with global warming.
Watch it:
Bush’s chief science adviser, John Marburger, recently said that manmade global warming is an “unequivocal” fact. But as Inslee notes, embracing rhetoric isn’t enough. He added that Bush has basically been reassuring his “friends in the oil and gas industry” that “we accept global warming, but don’t worry friends, we’re not going to actually do anything about it.”
The Bush administration has repeatedly resisted mandatory emission reductions and a cap-and-trade system. At the G-8 summit in June, German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed that countries adopt a 50 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, “but had to settle for compromise language after President Bush made it clear the United States would not agree to it.”
Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wrote to Bush and urged him to support “mandatory national and international limits” on greenhouse gas emissions.
Transcript:
INSLEE: I can’t tell you what’s happening in the recesses of the White House, but what I sense is the White House sort of having a, what I call a “wink-wink” global warming policy. Meaning now we are sort of, we’ll at least rhetorically recognize the science, the overwhelming consensus of the science of global warming, but we just won’t do anything about it.
So telling their friends in the oil and gas industry, “We’ll sort of mouth the words ‘we accept global warming,’ but don’t worry friends, we’re not going to actually do anything about it.” That’s why George Bush has continued to insist on these massive tax breaks for his friends in the oil and gas industry.
That’s why he has refused to accept a cap and trade system. That’s why his administration refuses to put research and development money into the high-tech sources that we need. So it’s a wink and a nod attitude, it won’t get us where we need.
We need what Kennedy did. When Kennedy said we’re going to the moon, he put muscle and meat and some money behind it, and we got to the moon. That’s the kind of leadership we need. Kennedy got us to the moon, George Bush’s energy policy wouldn’t get us to Cleveland.
The President has attempted, and unfortunately been somewhat successful, in getting international efforts to deal with global warming. The reason is, that he has this hallucination that somehow a voluntary system will cause the huge investment we need in high technology to be made. And we simply know that volunteerism is great for PTA bake sales, but they will not reorder the economic system of the world, and move to a clean energy technology.
Right now we need to send signals to the investment community and those signals would be that your investments in solar thermal power, photovoltaic power, wind power, wave power technology, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells. If we send signals to the investment community that there will be binding, legally enforceable measures to make those technologies profitable, we’ll get that investment.
But if we continue down this path of George Bush, with the rose-colored glasses, and he can wave his magic wand and suddenly everyone is going to make this investment. That dog just won’t hunt. And we’ve seen this sort of fictional policies before in his optimism that he was going to sprinkle success over Iraq and it’s the same thing with global warming.
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You go Jay!!! He’s my congressional rep., and I correspond with him regularly, usually urging him to take the offensive, like he’s done very effectively on the issue at hand. I also let him know that my vote will disappear in a heartbeat if I catch him voting with the goper bully caucus on anything. He’s a good guy, that cares about his home district, and we can look forward to having him around for a long time.
September 25th, 2007 at 7:08 pmYesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wrote to Bush and urged him to support “mandatory national and international limits†on greenhouse gas emissions.
Stop writing letters and start impeaching these bastards!!!
Start with Cheney, that one’s easy and you can practice getting it right for GW Botch!!
Then and only then will this WORLD feel free and begin to breath easy again!!!
Then Nasty Pollooser can claim to be a real leader!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 25th, 2007 at 7:20 pmYesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wrote to Bush and urged him to support “mandatory national and international limits†on greenhouse gas emissions.
Stop writing letters and start impeaching these bastards!!! Start with Cheney. By the time you get to GW Botch you might just understand impeachment and why you (Dem suck ups) should have started right after the last election!!!
Pollooser and Hairless Reed need to grow a pair of ovaries or balls. Just pick one or the other pair and get it done you losers!!
September 25th, 2007 at 7:22 pmConventional wisdom indicates we will be unable to profitably find and
September 25th, 2007 at 7:24 pmdevelop crude oil in about 20-30 years. After that, peak oil would have arrived and the scramble wil be on. My feeling is the folks in the WH already know this and that is why all the rush to invade countries with oil reserves. We are not invading no. korea, are we? The ruination of the
planet has begun. We are sorta looking at it like the beginning credits in a
movie theatre. The sh@t is going to hit the fan very soon. If you think people are onery and rude now, wait about 10 years when gas is $25 a gallon and there is no more middle class. get you retirement in order NOW, because social security will be bankrupt faster than we are told. We have just slipped into the abyss and we wil not find our way out.
My peeps,
Posting here is screwy right now. If you post in one thread it shows up in other threads…
Phreakkkkyyy…..
September 25th, 2007 at 7:28 pmAs if corporations will do anything about pollution on their own, it’s all about the money.
StratRat – you are right, my wife and I are looking to get some land away from the city, enough to grow our own food, and ways to produce our own energy, etc. But it is mostly for our daughter for when the world collapes into chaois. You can bet that Americans will be killing each other for food and heating materials. Just look at the attitude of the trolls here, they will be the first to kill their neighbors for what they have.
Buck Fush
September 25th, 2007 at 7:57 pmAnd we simply know that volunteerism is great for PTA bake sales, but they will not reorder the economic system of the world, and move to a clean energy technology.
This is never going to be done on a voluntary basis until we have squeezed the last dime we can get out of fossil fuels. And by “we” I mean Bush and Friends and their corporate predecessors.
September 25th, 2007 at 8:01 pmThe Bush-Cheney energy policy isn’t designed to get us to Cleveland–it is designed to make oil cronies incredibly richER!
September 25th, 2007 at 8:02 pmJust look at the attitude of the trolls here, they will be the first to kill their neighbors for what they have.
Buck Fush
I’m with you. You may want to look into joining a co-housing community. Do a web search and you will find lots of them. I am moving into a co-housing community next month (I sold my home, yee ha!). The reason why I am doing this is because I believe I will have a better chance of surviving the world that Bush is leaving us if I am living with 34 other families who all want to support each other, share resources and grow a lot of our own food. There is safety in numbers, and that’s why I am joining other like-minded individuals in building a new community.
Check it out, it may be what you need for your family. Here’s a place to start:
http://www.cohousing.org/default.aspx
September 25th, 2007 at 8:06 pmJay’s a good guy, but he still dodges all my questions on hydrogen power research…
September 25th, 2007 at 8:58 pmThe ruination of the planet has begun.
Comment by StratRat — September 25, 2007 @ 7:24 pm
StratRat, I concur with your post except for the statement I copied above.
The ruination of the planet, as far as human geography goes, started when when humans came into being. It’s simply part of our evolution. Larger brains. Ability to communicate better than any animal on the planet. Thurst for knowledge. Using our knowledge to produce more technology. Coupled with our various emotions and lack of belief in ourselves (that is, the mass belief in the supernatural), the knowledge and subsequent technology has allowed us to take a good stab at changing the planet in a very quick manner.
I would not imply that humans are doomed to ruin the planet though. Humans are showing signs of believing in themselves. Humans will adapt to a world without oil in some way. Humans will even adapt to massive changes in climate or man made catastrophe (nuclear or viruses or bacteria). There may be, or will be, massive loss of population. The human geography will change, as it always has.
In the end, for Earth that is, the sun will explode and that will be that.
September 25th, 2007 at 9:42 pmEh. Chimpy doesn’t have to worry about it. As he’s said before, he’ll be dead.
*muttering* (The sooner the better….)
September 25th, 2007 at 10:21 pmAticle kind of misses the point that Bush’s (or should I say Cheney’s) enegry poilicy had nothing to do with inding or making more energy.
It had everything to do with deregulation and maximizing profit (read gouging and exoritant prices) to feed the oil, natural gas, nuclear, and other traditional energy industries.
This is why the policy is so secretive – > there is nothing in it for new energy sourcing nor the common man, for that matter.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:26 pm.
tombaker,
Then please, ask of Inslee, how lobbying the State Legislature to NOT hold a debate on a State Resolution concerning Impeaching these bastards is faithfully representing his constituents in D.C.?
Please ask Inslee, how he is supporting and defending the Constitution of the USA by remaining silent, virtually allowing the usurpation and willful violation of the Constitution and the Laws derived from it?
Just keeping it honest.
All hot air blowing from Inslee.
Nothing to show for it, though.
As a fellow Washingtonian, Inslee is so outslee.
.
September 26th, 2007 at 2:47 amGeorge Bush hates Cleveland! That’s the only explanation for his rejection of the analogy of the moon and Cleveland and global warming and Kyoto. If Bush had half a brain he could look out his window and see the .05 celcius warming over the next 100 years. He’s an idiot!
September 26th, 2007 at 12:16 pmThere is a great article in Harpers this month, explaining all of this. It’s about the huge corporations that make their living from wars & disasters; and describes their involvement in everything from Iraq to Katrina to the tsunami, etc. The effects of global waming are just what these companies need, to stay in business. Outsourcing what was previously government’s responsibilities in these areas has made Bektel, Halliburton, Blackwater, and others of their ilk enormously wealthy. Eventually, all governmental services will be taken over by these kinds of companies; which means everyone will receive the police, schools, roads, etc. that they can afford to pay for. Right now, our tax dollars are being spent to create & sustain these companies which are already providing wealthy neighborhoods with the means to opt out of paying taxes for services that benefit all.
That article answers lots of questions about why owners of big corporations think disasters won’t happen to them – they won’t because they’ll be able to afford the means to escape, in style…
September 26th, 2007 at 12:19 pm