How many of our Dem candidates are serious about alternative energy?

[Bullet1987]

With the recent revelations about the Imperial Fortress...I mean, new US Embassy being built in Iraq ($592 million and about the size of 80 football fields)...how likely is it that our next President will completely withdraw...no matter who wins(yep...even a Dem)? Actually, how serious are our Dem candidates on alternative energy in the first place when the majority of them have said we need to stay in Iraq to "protect our interests." The "interests" being oil. If you're serious about AE...then why do we need to keep a presence in Iraq for oil? I smell a nasty form of doublespeak from some of our Democrats whether they realize it or not. What the hell happened to the electric car and why isn't that a viable alternative option?

[phantom power]

1. I can tell you one reason.

Because

1) We're passing peak oil as I type this.

2) Even if you are "serious" about alternative energy, oil and natural gas production rates are going to decline faster than our ability to replace them via other sources.

Assuming that any of them are "serious," which is debatable.

[Bullet1987]

2. Hmm...all of these views and 1 reply...I wonder where the cheerleaders are?

Well...this isn't a poll thread now that I think about it.

[AnOhioan]

3. I know of least one candidate who is....

Thanks to advances in renewables, there are fewer technical obstacles to energy independence for our country. There are many political obstacles -- but the oil, auto and electric utility corporations should not be directing energy policy. We must work to spur research and investment in "alternative" energy sources such as hydrogen, solar, wind and ocean, and make them mainstream. Clean energy technologies will produce new jobs. We can and must double our energy from renewable sources by 2010. And we can very soon have hybrid and fuel cell cars dominating the market.

As a peace advocate, I hope to launch a major renewables effort so that Middle East oil fields will not loom so large as strategic or military targets. There has to be a renewable energy portfolio of at least 20% by 2010. And that means introducing wind, solar, hydrogen, geothermal, biomass, and all of the options that must be available and need incentivizing. That also means withdrawing incentives for the production of nonrenewable energy. I'm not talking about building new hydro dams; I'm not talking about damming up more rivers and streams. We need to subsidize the development of new energy technologies. And I'm willing to do that through NASA, which has been of singular importance to our economy by developing technologies for propulsion, for aerospace, for materials, for medicines, and for communication. We need to fund NASA in, among other areas, a mission to planet Earth.

I have a long and consistent record of working for protecting the environment. I was active in helping draft the first environmental law protecting the air, as a member of the Cleveland City Council 30 years ago. I led the effort in Ohio challenging nuclear power as being unsafe, unreliable, and unsustainable, and I'm still leading the effort in challenging it. And, most recently, I was at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, advocating a plan with Mikhail Gorbachev for a Global Green Deal that would enable the introduction of $50 billion of new solar projects around the world. It will be a major initiative to use our country's leadership in sustainable energy production to provide jobs to Americans, to reduce energy use here at home, and to partner with developing nations to provide their people with inexpensive, local renewable-energy technologies.

As an environmentalist, my view is always holistic and global: we need to launch a "Global Green Deal" -- a major initiative to use our country's leadership in sustainable energy production to provide jobs to Americans, to reduce energy use here at home, and to partner with developing nations to provide their people with inexpensive, local renewable energy technologies. As a citizen of Planet Earth, I want this project for the same reason I would sign the Kyoto climate change treaty -- because we need it for our children and our grandchildren.

http://kucinich.us/issues/energy.php


I believe we are also all aware that Dennis is one of the few who wants us out of Iraq.

Are the two ideas intertwined? You bet.

[bklyncowgirl]

4. Richardson has put out a strong program.

He also has a record of promoting alternatives in New Mexico.

http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/issues/energy

[Jillian]

5. Biden has accomplished these things already-

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/03/biden_introduce.html

Biden Introduces Bill Focused on Li-Ion Battery Development for EVs and Plug-Ins
30 March 2007
US Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) has introduced legislation that would significantly increase US investment in the development of advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

“The American Automobile Industry Promotion Act of 2007” (S.1055) authorizes $100 million a year for five years to advance the technology—double the amount of the current budget request from the Administration.

Specifically, Biden’s bill would support the development of advanced electric components, systems and vehicles, by providing funds for battery research to national laboratories, small businesses, and institutes of higher learning.

The bill will also establish, through a competitive selection process, an Industry Alliance of private,US-based, for-profit firms whose primary business is battery development. The Industry Alliance would be an advisory resource on short and long term battery technology development.

Lots more info at:

http://biden.senate.gov/issues/environment.cfm

also -
Bipartisan Coalition of Senators Introduce Legislation to Reduce Gasoline Consumption by Half a Trillion Gallons, 13.1 Million Barrels of Oil, by 2028
http://biden.senate.gov/newsroom/details.cfm?id=258899&&

July 27, 2006
Press Release

Biden Calls for End to Handouts to Oil Companies, as Profits Continue to Skyrocket

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) today called upon his Senate colleagues to repeal billions of dollars in tax incentives for oil companies, as the largest oil companies in the world reported another record-breaking quarter.

“We’re giving away billions of dollars in incentives to these guys at a time when they are making money hand over fist. It is an absolute waste of our resources,” said Biden.“ They even agree that they don’t need the money. We should put the money we save here to better use by increasing our energy security through renewable energy sources.”