Greens Call for Efforts to Curb Global Warming

Greens Call for a Global Conservation Effort to Curb Global Warming

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders, on the eve of 'Step It Up' events scheduled on April 14 to address the growing threat of climate change, spoke out in favor of a massive conversion of the US economic system to curb the threat of global warming in the coming decades.



Carl Romanelli, Pennsylvania Green Party, 2006 US Senate candidate:

"We can only curb global warming by drastically reducing the amount of
greenhouse gases that we're emitting. We need to stop burning oil and coal.
The Green Party has called for the U.S. to sign on to the Kyoto accords and
to take the lead on a 70% reduction of CO2 emissions, with public and
private initiatives at every level to support the Global Climate Treaty
signed at the Earth Summit in 1992, committing industrial nations within a
time framework to reducing emissions to 1990 levels. This will require a
massive investment of resources, similar to the effort we put into World War
II. But this is exactly what we need to do to protect the earth and the
future of numerous species -- including humans."

Starlene Rankin, Lavender Green Caucus delegate to the Green Party of the
United States:

"We need to develop clean and safe alternative forms of energy, such as wind
and solar power, but alternative energy sources cannot sustain our way of
life as global warming progresses and fossil fuel use is dramatically
limited. We must learn to conserve energy. We can start with a massive
investment in trains, electric trains, and various forms of electrified mass
transit, to replace car traffic and curb sprawl. We need to consume locally
grown food, instead of relying on food driven hundreds or thousands of miles
across the US in trucks and grown with petroleum-based fertilizers and
pesticides. We need to enact carbon taxes, and to do so without placing the
major burden on working people. We can use conservation projects, as well as
alternative energy development, to generate new jobs all across the US."

Mark Dunlea, Green Party of New York State:

"Phasing out our addiction to fossil fuels is a matter of national and
global security. In the short term, our reliance on oil and the power of oil
companies have entangled us in Middle East conflicts. The proposed Iraqi
'hydrocarbon law' will give US and UK energy firms control over Iraq's oil
resources, which will inflame regional tensions and require indefinite
military occupation of Iraq to protect corporate investments. In future
decades, we will see growing resentment from developing countries in Asia,
Africa, and Latin America over the high consumption of energy resources by
western nations and attempts to maintain our high standards of living.
Global warming, if not interrupted, won't just lead to climatic devastation,
it will also result in global wars over water, food, and other resources. If
we want to offset such conflicts, the US must lead the world in conserving
energy and reducing consumption, and must do so now. We can begin with a
recommitment to the Kyoto Accord and an expansion of the Kyoto protocols."

"US lags on plans for climate change"
By Beth Daley, The Boston Globe Staff, April 5, 2007
boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/05/us_lags_on_plans_for_climate_change/

"Poor Nations to Bear Brunt as World Warms"
By Andrew C. Revkin, The New York Times, April 1, 2007
nytimes.com/2007/04/01/science/earth/01climate.html

Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and Deputy
Mayor of New Paltz, New York:

(Note: under Green leadership, New Paltz uses solar and purchases wind
energy and is expanding 'green' transportation)

"The greatest obstacles we face in the climate change crisis are official
misinformation and censorship of scientific data. Democratic and Republican
politicians under the influence of corporate lobbies are promoting nuclear
power and caps on industrial carbon dioxide emissions with a credit-trading
system, but the dangers of nuclear power are insurmountable, and
market-based solutions are proving severely inadequate. The Bush
Administration has censored and tampered with scientific reports on global
warming, and has placed gag orders on government scientists, prohibiting
them from discussing climate change publicly. President Bush's reckless and
irresponsible policies on global warming are a threat to public health and
the environment, and should be counted as impeachable 'high crimes and
misdemeanors.'"

"Global Warming: Bush is doing to World what he did to New Orleans; Greens
call Bush's tampering with scientific research on global warming an
impeachable offense"
Green Party press release, February 5, 2007
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2007_02_05.shtml

"Smoke alarm: EU shows carbon trading is not cutting emissions"
By David Gow, The Guardian, April 3, 2007
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2048918,00.html

"Memos Tell Officials How to Discuss Climate"
By Andrew C. Revkin, The New York Times, March 8, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/washington/08polar.html

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml

"Meltdown: Running out of time on global warming"
By Bill McKibben, The Christian Century, February 20, 2007
http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=2978