Bill Provides
Long-Term U.S.
Solution to Global Warming
Columbus, Ohio— Environment Ohio applauded Representatives
Tubbs-Jones and Kucinich for cosponsoring legislation introduced today to fight
global warming. The Safe Climate Act
would limit global warming pollution to levels that current science says are
needed to prevent the worst effects of global warming. The bill was introduced by a bipartisan group
of nearly 125 members led by Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), the chair of
the House Oversight Committee and a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee.
“We
commend Representatives Tubbs-Jones and Kucinich for supporting strong,
science-based legislation to fight global warming. Global warming is the most important
environmental challenge of our time, and future generations will judge us by
how we handle it,” said Amy Gomberg, the Environmental Advocate with
Environment Ohio.
The
world’s leading scientific institutions have long been united in recognizing
the grave threat posed by human-caused global warming, a fact underscored by
the recent report by the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, which called the evidence that global warming is occurring
“unequivocal.”
Now, many
scientists are also warning that time is running out to prevent the worst
effects of global warming. NASA’s chief
climatologist, Dr. James Hansen, has said that we must begin to reduce global
warming pollution within 10 years or risk climate change that would result in
“practically a different planet.”
The Safe
Climate Act, first introduced in June 2006, would reduce total U.S. global
warming emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (a 15% reduction from today’s levels)
and to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. To
achieve these emission reductions, the bill calls for a greater reliance on
clean, renewable energy and improved energy efficiency.
“Energy
efficiency and renewable energy are common sense solutions to reduce global
warming pollution, but we have to put them to use. Ohio
has significant wind energy resources, enough to supply at least 10 percent of
our electricity within the next decade. Now is the time to start harnessing Ohio’s clean wind
energy” said Gomberg.
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the new home to the environmental work of Ohio PIRG
