Kucinich: "Passing a weak bill today gives us weak environmental policy tomorrow"-

10.  The Renewable
Electricity Standard (RES) is not an improvement. The 15% RES
standard would be achieved even if we failed to act.

11.  Dirty energy options qualify as "renewable"-:
The bill allows polluting industries to qualify as "renewable energy."- 
Trash incinerators not only emit greenhouse gases, but also emit highly toxic
substances.  These plants disproportionately expose communities of color and
low-income to the toxics.  Biomass burners that allow the use of trees as a
fuel source are also defined as "renewable."- Under the bill,
neither source of greenhouse gas emissions is counted as contributing to global
warming.

12.  It undermines our bargaining position in international
negotiations in Copenhagen
and beyond. As the biggest per capita polluter, we have a responsibility to
take action that is disproportionately stronger than the actions of other
countries. It is, in fact, the best way to preserve credibility in the
international context.

13.  International assistance is much less than demanded by
developing countries. Given the level of climate change that is already in the
pipeline, we are going to need to devote major resources toward adaptation.  Developing
countries will need it the most, which is why they are calling for much more resources
for adaptation and technology transfer than is allocated in this bill.  This
will also undercut our position in Copenhagen.

"I offered eight amendments and cosponsored two more that
collectively would have turned the bill into an acceptable starting point.  All
amendments were not allowed to be offered to the full House.  Three amendments
endeavored to minimize the damage that will be done by offsets, a method of
achieving greenhouse gas reductions that has already racked up a history of
failure to reduce emissions "" increasing emissions in some cases ""
while displacing people in developing countries who rely on the land for their
well being.

"Three other amendments would have made the federal government a
force for change by requiring all federal energy to eventually come from
renewable resources, by requiring the federal government to transition to
electric and plug-in hybrid cars, and by requiring the installation of solar
panels on government rooftops and parking lots.  These provisions would
accelerate the transition to a green economy.

"Another amendment would have moved up the year by which
reductions of greenhouse gas emissions were required from 2030 to 2025.  It
would have encouraged the efficient use of allowances and would have reduced
opportunities for speculation by reducing the emission value of an allowance by
a third each year.

"The last
amendment would have removed trash incineration from the definition of
renewable energy.  Trash incineration is one of the primary sources of
environmental injustice in the country.  It a primary source of compounds in
the air known to cause cancer, asthma, and other chronic diseases.  These
facilities are disproportionately sited in communities of color and communities
of low income.  Furthermore, incinerators emit more carbon dioxide per unit of
electricity produced than coal-fired power plants.

"Passing a weak bill today gives us weak environmental policy
tomorrow,"- said Kucinich.

 1  |  2