Global Warming

Watch: We Must Fix Global Warming
If we don’t fix global warming now, there may not be any America as we know it left.  There may not be hospitable places left for our children and our grandchildren to live. 

We can defeat global warming by doing what we do best: harnessing the power and efficiency of our economic markets so that our markets produce atmosphere-friendly products. We must put in place economic incentives that motivate producers to sell more atmosphere-friendly products and motivate us, America’s consumers, to buy those products.

Experts agree that man-made pollution is causing global warming. The levels of CO₂ and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere are the highest in recorded history.  If we do nothing, CO₂ levels are predicted to become much higher – more than double the rates today – within 45 years. The rise in CO₂ levels is already causing the earth’s atmosphere to warm, which is causing shifts in the earth’s climate, oceans, sea level and more. The increases in hurricanes, unusually strong storms, and melting ice in the artic and Antarctic are all evidence of this. As CO₂ levels move higher, our atmosphere will deteriorate further and further. The end result of global warming could very well be cataclysmic – the end to life as we know it. 

Our district wil be severely affected, despite its distance from rising oceans and tropical temperatures. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, global warming will cause drier soils, increased droughts and more extreme heat in this area.  In addition, heavy rainstorms could be 50-100% more prevalent than today. 

The U.S. is responsible for about 24% of all greenhouse gas pollution.  Pollution from cars and pollution from commercial smokestacks cause a substantial part of the problem. Almost two-thirds of greenhouse gas pollution in Illinois comes from vehicles and smokestacks. We must address these sources of pollution. 

Global warming has been getting worse steadily, little by little, year-after-year.  However, the earth may soon reach a breaking point where things get much worse really fast.  We must not take that risk -- the stakes are too high -- we need to act now.

Working together, we can fix the impending Global Warming tragedy just like we and the world together fixed the Ozone problem by reducing chlorofluorocarbon gasses worldwide (Ozone in the atmosphere is predicted to return to pre-1980’s levels within 45-70 years). To slow and then stop and reverse Global Warming, we must significantly reduce the amount of global warming gasses (like CO₂) we put into the atmosphere. Here’s my solution:

Tax & Rebate Vehicle Plan

We must vastly increase the efficiency of our vehicle fleet – the average miles per gallon that our cars, SUV’s and pickup trucks get. Doing so will put a big dent in our greenhouse gas emissions.  While the fuel efficiency of similar size cars has gone up some over the years, cars have gotten larger, so according to the Department of Transportation, from 1991 to 2004, the average fuel economy of all U.S. cars and light trucks on the road stayed about the same, at 17.1 miles per gallon. 

Unfortunately, the prices consumers pay for gas guzzling cars (the biggest polluters) do not reflect the extra damage these high pollution vehicles are doing to our air, to our climate and to our children’s lives. The price car buyers pay should reflect the extra cost to the rest of us for cleaning up the damage caused by those high pollution vehicles, or as economists call it the cost of the “externalities” they generate. It’s only fair that if people damage something, they should pay to clean it up. 

On the other hand, people who drive low polluting cars pay too much because low polluting cars cause much less damage to our air, our climate, and the lives of our children compared to gas guzzlers. We all benefit from the less-than-average damage, but the value of the benefit is not reflected in lower sticker prices.

My Tax & Rebate Vehicle Plan fixes the unfairness of vehicle pricing by having the damage vehicles do to our lives, to our nation and to our world reflected in their sticker prices. Under my Plan, anyone who buys a low mileage, gas guzzler will pay a tax for doing so and the revenue from the tax will be rebated to consumers who buy high miles per gallon, fuel efficient cars. 

My Tax & Rebate Vehicle Plan is fair because it requires big polluters to pay more and allows low polluters to pay less. My Tax & Rebate Plan also allows our free market to work more efficiently because it eliminates the market/pricing imperfections that arise when car prices do not reflect true costs.

The tax revenue from my Tax & Rebate Vehicle Plan will not go to the government to misuse or waste. Rather the tax revenue is rebated to people who buy gas efficient vehicles.  The tax is revenue neutral – As much money as is collected from the tax on big gas guzzlers will be rebated to those buying more gas efficient vehicles. 

A committee of three non-partisan economists will set the tax and rebate rates and will adjust them depending on who is buying which vehicles. The only thing Congress must do is set the miles per gallon our vehicle fleet should get. In 2009, new vehicles should average 30 miles per gallon; In 2012, the average should be 40 miles per gallon; In 2015, it should be 50 miles per gallon. In 2018, it should be 60 miles per gallon.

Why will my Tax & Rebate Vehicle Plan work? Because it lets the power of the market work. If gas guzzling polluters are more expensive and efficient non-polluters less expensive, more people will buy the more efficient non-polluting cars.  Also, manufacturers who want to sell gas guzzlers, will have a strong economic incentive to make the gas guzzlers less gas guzzling.  Some people will pay the tax and buy the gas guzzlers, and others will receive the rebates and buy cheaper fuel efficient cars. 

Increasing the gas mileage our cars, SUV’s and pickup trucks get will not only reduce greenhouse gasses, it will help make our country stronger because it will help make us energy independent – no more relying on foreign sources of oil.  And we can easily do this – just as other countries are doing it.  Both Europe and Japan have much more stringent automobile efficiency regulations than we do, with Japan requiring all new cars sold in Japan to average 45 miles per gallon. Yet here in the United States, average fuel economy for all new motor vehicles sold in 2005 was less than 25 miles per gallon.

Anti-Global Warming Smokestack Carbon Credit Trading Plan

Competitive markets are what makes America great and they are the best way to help reduce greenhouse gasses among commercial polluters.  For example, under the Clean Air Act, to combat acid rain, Congress mandated that total sulfur pollution from power plant smokestacks be cut in half - polluters were required either to fix their polluting smokestacks, build new cleaner smokestacks or buy credits from companies with low-polluting smokestacks.  This revenue neutral market program has led to cleaner, less polluting, commercial smokestacks, and cut sulfur pollution efficiently. 

My Anti-Global Warming Smokestack Carbon Credit Trading solution mandates that greenhouse gas emissions from all commercial sources be reduced by at least 20% by 2018 and 40% by 2028. Like the anti-acid rain Clear Air Act program, there should be a competitive market allowing polluters to buy, sell and trade pollution credits, thereby harnessing the power of our markets without raising taxes. This should reward non-polluters (because non-polluting companies are selling the credits) and encourage polluters to fix their pollution problems (because the more expensive it is to pollute, the more likely a polluter will fix its problem).

Tax Credits For Using Alternative Energy Sources or Products

Buy long lasting energy efficient bulbs, you get a tax credit. Buy a solar panel to power your house, you get a tax credit.  Buy a geo-thermal heating system, you get a tax credit. A tax credit is a refund that you get when you file your taxes - it reduces your taxes by the amount of the credit. The cheaper something is, the more likely you are to buy it. We have the power to shift what you and I buy away from energy wasting items.  We do this by making the energy efficient items cheaper. The more energy we save, the less oil and coal we burn, the less greenhouse gasses we emit into the air and the more energy independent we become.  These tax credits will be available to all Americans, including those paying the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Tax Credits for Producing Alternate Energy

We must give significant tax credits to businesses that produce alternate energy in commercial quantities. The cheaper it is to buy windmills to build a wind farm, the cheaper it is to purchase solar panels to produce electricity, the cheaper it is to produce ethanol to power vehicles, the more likely commercial producers will do so.

Wind energy could be a big part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions if we offer appropriate incentives. For example, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, Illinois has the potential to produce nearly 85 percent of its electricity needs from wind. According to the UCS, wind energy by itself could provide $1.2 billion in new income for farmers and rural landowners by 2020, as well as 80,000 new jobs.

Real Conservation

The good news is that the cheapest way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to conserve energy.  Incorporating energy efficient technology into new construction could reduce energy consumption by 40%. America’s towns and cities are full of buildings and businesses which leave their lights on all night, night after night, frequently for no other reason than to advertise their presence.  The federal government should lead the way in energy conservation by requiring government buildings to maximize their energy conservation, and requiring contractors doing business with the government and states receiving federal funds to do the same. Tightening building codes will also lead to increased energy conservation.

Increase and Fully Fund Alternate Energy Programs in the Farm Bill

The 2002 Farm Bill contains a number of sections devoted to alternate energy programs. The problem in many instances is that Congress established the programs, but failed to fund them (without funds to support a program, the program is meaningless).  Many of these underfunded or unfunded 2002 Farm Bill provisions should be fully funded (and in some case, should see increases in funding).

For example, Section 9003 of the Farm Bill should be fully funded. It was authorized, but not funded in 2002.  Section 9003 contains a program that helps commercialize technologies to convert biomass into a range of fuels and chemicals.  Under the program, the Department of Agriculture may fund up to 30% of the development and construction costs of new bioenergy projects. 

Sign the Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is unfortunate that we have not signed the Treaty. 74% of greenhouse gases are produced by other countries.  How are we going to lead all the industrialized nations who have signed the treaty to do more to stop greenhouse gas emissions if we don’t sign the Treaty? How are we going to convince China and India, both of which are not currently covered by the Treaty, to stop polluting in the future if we don’t sign the international Treaty?  The Montreal Protocol – another international treaty – works well and helped the world stop destroying Ozone.

The Kyoto Protocol is a beginning approach to combat greenhouse gas emissions. We should sign the Kyoto Protocol. We should harness our powerful economic markets to reduce CO₂ emissions. If we don’t act soon, we will allow global warming to continue to damage us, our children and our children’s children.  Furthermore, if we don’t act soon, we may weaken our economy by allowing European companies to gain the upper hand in the market for pollution control technology.

Negotiate a New International Anti-Global Warming Treaty

The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.  It is absolutely essential that we negotiate stringent international caps for greenhouse gas emissions for all nations, including our own.  We must include China and India in the new treaty’s caps.

Venture Capital For Alternate Energy Sources

We must use tax credits to encourage venture capitalists (called, “VC’s”) to establish venture capital funds to invest in companies that produce alternate energy.  Venture capitalists frequently provide seed financing (called, “early stage financing”) to new companies that have great ideas and new products, but don’t have the money to build their businesses.  Once entrepreneurs realize VC’s are interested in a particular field, entrepreneurs tend to start businesses in those areas. 

Creating incentives for VC’s to fund new alternate energy businesses will focus our nation’s entrepreneurs on alternate energy innovation. Let’s let our powerful capitalist markets and our entrepreneurial talent work for us to reduce greenhouse gasses. Thirty years ago, there were no laptop computers.  Venture capital investment and entrepreneurs drove the rise of computers, the internet and innovation.  We can do the same for alternate energy companies. 

Implement Federal Energy Efficiency Standards for All Products

One recent report by Illinois PIRG concluded that if ceiling fans, commercial clothes washers, commercial refrigerators and freezers, exit signs, large packaged commercial air conditioners, low-voltage distribution transformers, set-top boxes, torchiere lighting fixtures, traffic signs, and unit heaters were required to meet existing minimum energy efficient standards, businesses and consumers would save more than $1.7 billion between 2005 and 2030.  According to the report, by 2020, Illinois’ annual electricity savings would be enough to power the cities of Springfield and Naperville combined. By implementing federal energy efficiency standards for all products, we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help grow our economy.