Earth Equity News

The Senate's Chance on Warming. Editorial, NYTimes, May 28, 2008. "Next week, the Senate is scheduled to take up [the Lieberman-Warner climate bill]. Mr. Bush, predictably, opposes the bill. Add that to the slim Democratic majority and the complexity of the bill itself, and the chances of getting 60 filibuster-proof votes are modest at best. Even so, a majority vote would create positive momentum for the next Congress and send a strong signal to the country and [to] the world that help on this issue is on the way. For that reason, it is crucial for John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton to show up and vote for this bill. All are on record as supporting mandatory cuts in greenhouse gases. A pressing campaign schedule is no excuse for not being counted on an issue this important to the nation's future. The Senate last addressed climate change in 2003 when it cast 43 votes in favor of a bill sponsored by Mr. McCain and Mr. Lieberman. This bill is even more ambitious. It calls for a 70% reduction in emissions by 2050 -- requiring, in turn, a huge change in the way the country creates, delivers and uses energy."