Obama On Climate Change
Barack Obama spoke to the bi-partisan Governors' Global Climate
Summit in Los Angeles today. In Obama's recorded message he
said his administration would act immediately on climate change. Everyone dismayed by the Bush administration's serial denials of climate change and ongoing combativeness with environmental policy leaders welcomed Obama's words.
The President-elect listed some of his plans:
- Establish a federal cap and trade system with strong annual targets, to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and an additional 80% reduction by 2050.
- Budget 15 billion dollars each year in "catalyze private sector efforts" on 'safe nuclear power', wind power, solar power, next generation biofuels, and "clean coal technologies".
- Provide "500 million new green jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced"
Obama said: "When I am president any governor willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House in government." California has been repeatedly thwarted by the Bush administration in its attempts to pass stricter emissions rules than those laid out by the federal government.
Likewise, Obama noted, any company investing in clean technology will have an ally in Washington, as will any nation determined to combat climate change. Addressing those who have been clamoring that he attend the UN meeting on climate change in Poland next month, he reminded that he's not yet acting president, but would keep abreast of the progress via observers. Obama promised that the U.S."will engage vigorously in these negotiations" in the future, and lead a "new era of global cooperation on climate change".
New Home for Maldivians? Or All Scuba All The Time
There's no time to waste. In related news, the government of the Maldives Islands is looking to buy land on higher ground. Approximately 300,000 citizens call the 1200 islands of Maldive home. The human rights activist president, Randeep Ramesh said he had broached the idea with India and Sri Lanka, because they have the same culture, cuisine and climate -- and Australia, because it has open land. According to The Guardian the president said he was starting a relocation fund, by planning to sell of some state assets, turning the government palace into a university, 1 and saving money earned from tourism.
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Acronym Required writes regularly on environment and public policy, and occasionally on island living in the age of anthropomorphic global warming.
1 Scuba School at Maldive U?
