As President, Hilary Clinton will provide environmental leadership for USA

Editor's note: The writer served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Bill Clinton from 1993-2001.

article from: http://www.seacoastonline.com

By Carol Browner

As former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, I am alarmed that the Bush administration is in continual denial of the critical environmental issues we face.

We are at a crossroads where for the first time in history our inaction may leave the next generation with irreversible environmental devastation.

What we need is a president who has the experience to deal with these pressing environmental issues efficiently and effectively. That is why I am supporting Hillary Clinton for president.

Sen. Clinton recently released a comprehensive plan to address America's energy and environmental challenges by establishing a greener, more efficient economy and creating up to 5 million new jobs.

Sen. Clinton's plan will reduce America's reliance on foreign oil and address the looming climate crisis. Her plan is centered on stronger energy and auto-efficiency standards, a significant increase in green research funding, and a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions. I believe that a cap-and-trade program, like the one I implemented for acid rain at the EPA, is an effective way to provide incentives for reducing emissions.

The plan sets ambitious goals. It would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of global warming, and cut foreign oil imports by two-thirds from 2030 projected levels, more than 10 million barrels per day.

Sen. Clinton would work to improve the efficiency and security of our economy's energy supply, jump-starting research and development through a $50 billion strategic energy fund and doubling investment in basic energy research.

She would also spur the green building industry by funding the retrofitting and modernization of 20 million low-income homes, and she would take concrete steps to reduce electricity consumption, including enacting strict appliance efficiency standards and phasing out incandescent light bulbs.

Reducing the environmental impact of transportation is a vital piece of any effective environmental program.

Transportation accounts for 70 percent of U.S. oil consumption. Sen. Clinton would increase fuel-efficiency standards to 55 miles per gallon by 2030, and she would also help automakers retool their production facilities through $20 billion in "green vehicle bonds."

To take the steps necessary to transition to a cleaner, more secure energy future, the senator will urge all of the nation's stakeholders to contribute to the effort. She will call upon automakers to manufacture more efficient vehicles; oil and energy companies to invest in cleaner, renewable technologies; utilities to ramp up use of renewables and modernize the grid; coal companies to implement clean coal technology; government to establish a cap-and-trade emissions reduction program and to renew its leadership in energy efficient buildings and services; individuals to conserve energy and utilize efficient light bulbs and appliances in their homes; and industry to build energy-efficient homes and buildings.

Sen. Clinton is working hard in the Senate and is demonstrating she is the strongest and most effective candidate on environmental issues. She has been a leading member of the Environment and Public Works Committee since she was elected. Today, she chairs the Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee and, in that capacity, she has promoted legislation to protect against the impact of environmental pollutants on people's health and to clean up toxic waste.

She has worked to reduce air pollution that causes asthma and other respiratory diseases by working to pass new laws to clean up exhaust from school buses and other diesel-powered equipment, and she has fought efforts to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

Our next president must have the know-how and the commitment to enter the White House and immediately begin to undo the damage the Bush administration has wrought over the past seven years. I've known Hillary Clinton for 15 years, and I know she's the right candidate for the job. She will work to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, and to ensure that the communities in which we raise our children are healthy.