Bill Richardson: Decision 2008

Time For New Energy Economy Is Now The recent 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the federal government must do more to combat climate change has, rightly, been seen as a stinging rebuke of the Bush Administration's longstanding policy of inaction and a major victory for environmental groups. I agree, but it should also be seen as a sobering wake up call. The debate ended years ago. Every major, independent scientific organization agrees, climate change is real and it is already having a negative impact across the globe, including in the desert Southwest where my state -- New Mexico -- is particularly susceptible to drought. Reams of published scientific papers, terabytes of atmospheric data and freezers full of ice cores have proved that our greenhouse gas emissions are causing greater carbon dioxide concentrations and an increase in global temperatures. We must elect a president who will address the greatest environmental challenge of our time head on, while creating thousands of jobs in a new clean energy industry. As President Clinton's Energy Secretary I increased efficiency standards, saving consumers billions in energy costs. And in the past five years as Governor of New Mexico, I have enacted some of the nation's most progressive clean and renewable energy policies. We are on path to exceed the Kyoto Protocols. We have put in place some of the nation's toughest greenhouse gas reduction goals; we have become the first state in the country to join the Chicago Climate Exchange; and we have created hundreds of new jobs by promoting our wind, solar and biofuels industries. In the past few weeks alone I have quadrupled the renewable energy requirements on the state's utilities, signed the first tax credit in the nation to cover carbon capture technology and include specific capture goals at coal-fired power plants, and enacted biofuels requirements that will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Senators and Congressmen debate and take votes on issues, but I have gotten things done for the people of my state. I have made New Mexico a national leader on energy security and climate change. And now I have a plan to blaze the same trail at the national level. This includes taking real action to increase American energy security and combat global warming, a “Man on the Moon” effort that includes mandatory emission reduction goals combined with a national emission credit trading system, new incentives for renewable energy sources, and dramatically increased fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. While President Bush has been paying lip service to our “addiction to oil,” America's reliance on foreign oil has steadily increased to 65 percent on his watch, not decreased. And we send billions of dollars overseas each year, much of it to unstable, unfriendly despots in the Middle East. We need to declare our independence from foreign oil, and we need to do it now. Keeping these billions at home will help foster an American-made energy economy and create new, high paying jobs. The money we save can be used to help expand access to healthcare, for education, and to help our struggling middle class families. This isn't a theory. We have done it in New Mexico. Tesla Motors, the country's first large scale electric car manufacturer, is building a plant in Albuquerque. Advent Solar plans to employ hundreds fabricating solar cells. We are expanding our production of renewable ethanol by six times and wind turbines are sprouting on our eastern plains. Our overall economy is enjoying increasing wages. 84,000 more New Mexicans are working today than when I took office and unemployment is below the national average. President Bush has said that the United States economy cannot afford to address climate change. I say we can't afford not to. With focused effort and ingenuity, the United States put a man on the moon within a decade of setting its mind to it. We can do the same with energy independence. But it will take more than a one vote margin; it will take a genuine, grassroots movement. Leaders know how to challenge this nation to achieve new and sometimes difficult goals and then provide the resources, vision and passion to meet those challenges. This is a time for real leadership. It's a time for us to step up and elect a leader who will face our climate challenge and create a new energy economy. Bill Richardson served as U.S. Secretary of Energy and Ambassador to the United Nations and is currently Governor of New Mexico. For more information about his campaign for president, visit RichardsonForPresident.com More Statements From The 2008 Presidential Candidates John Edwards