Eric Massa NY29: Rescuing our Environment........

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Eric won't be live blogging at dkos today but has promised to answer any questions you might have, later today.

Rescuing our Environment from one of the Worst Members of Congress

Last month, I announced my New Bill of Rights. This Declaration is my way of expanding upon the Rights listed in FDR's 1944 State of the Union message to Congress, which I have touched upon in some of my more recent DailyKos Diaries. I know that the way forward for the Democratic Party is to stand with the people against President Bush and the Rubberstamp Republicans, who taken the side of Corporatists rather than the American family. Together, I know we can make this world a better place.

This is the fourth in a ten part series where we will discuss some of the most important issues facing the American people today. I want to hear your opinions and thoughts on each and every one of these topics. Normally, I hold a weekly liveblog right here from 3-6 pm Eastern Time, however today I have a number of meetings and thus cannot make it. Please do leave me your thoughts and questions, I will return to answer them as soon as possible.

Again, if you missed any of our previous discussions, you can read all of them right here.

#4 The People have the Right to a Sustainable Environment...

On October 17, 1973, the United States came face to face with our addiction to oil. In the 1970's Oil Crisis, through rationing, high gas prices and endless lines at the pumps, we found out exactly how dependant our nation is on foreign oil.

Fast-forward to today, and we find ourselves in an even worse situation. Today we are engaged in an unnecessary war (which was supposed to be paid for with oil revenues) and no end is in sight. We have seen rising water temperatures destroy a city (which two years later, we still have yet to address). We've seen the Arctic Ice cap shrink by 500,000 square miles in the year 2000. We've seen Fuel Cell technology inch its way forward, 19 Million bucks at a time, which is slightly less than the cost of 2 hours in Iraq. Perhaps the most upsetting part of this is that we've known this was happening, yet the Rubber stamp Republicans sat by and flatly denied it to line their pockets with Oil Money.

It's this kind of attitude that has earned my opponent, Congressman Randy Kuhl an identity on K Street. Congressman Kuhl is now categorized with the Washington GOP that is steeped in corruption, apathetic towards their constituency, and generally falling apart at the seams.

What is happening to our Planet?

There is no easy way to answer this question; rather it's a combination of several elements. Back in the days of Christopher Columbus, our ecosystem was in balance. Forests dominated the landscape, rivers flowed predictably, and the permafrost was, well perma. Farming was done locally, villages existed with simple tools, and you could see the stars at night.

In the late 1800's, the Industrial Revolution changed all that. In the years to come, horse drawn buggies were replaced by automobiles, vast forests gave way to cities, and sky lines were invaded by smoke stacks. I'm not making a judgment on our forefathers; I'm simply stating what happened, the results of which they never could have guessed.

With Industrial Revolution, came a dramatic increase in the level of water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane (the greenhouse gas) in our atmosphere. Although these are all naturally occurring substances, our ecosystem cannot handle them in the quantities that we've produced. With the mass influx of these gases into our atmosphere the Earth began to experience what scientists today call the Greenhouse Effect. The Greenhouse Effect is exactly what it sounds like. The earth is heated by the sun's rays, and just like light, the heat bounces off our earth and back out into space. The problem is that our atmosphere is filled with too many greenhouse gases. Solar radiation enters the Earth's atmosphere, and while a small portion of this radiation (heat) returns to space as thermal radiation, a significant portion of it is retained in the Earth's atmosphere through a process of absorption by greenhouse gases, thus providing our planet with more heat than it's meant to handle.




As we pump more and more methane into the air, we face a snowball effect, no pun intended. When we look at the Permafrost in Alaska, Northern Canada and Siberia, it's clear that the title of “permanent” that's defined these tundras may no longer be appropriate. The worst part about it is that which lies below the permafrost is now seeping out of the ground. The UK Guardian has the details on this.

A vast expanse of western Siberia is undergoing an unprecedented thaw that could dramatically increase the rate of global warming, climate scientists warn today.

Researchers who have recently returned from the region found that an area of permafrost spanning a million square kilometers - the size of France and Germany combined - has begun to melt for the first time since it formed, 11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.

...

The area, which covers the entire sub-Arctic region of western Siberia, is the world's largest frozen peat bog. Scientists fear that as it thaws, it will release billions of tons of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. According to scientists, this would effectively double atmospheric levels of the gas, leading to a 10% to 25% increase in global warming.<.div>

The world is in great danger, and we need to act decisively, effectively, and with one world voice. We need a government that will work toward the common good rather than against it.

Randy and the Rubberstamp Republicans

Under the rule of George W. Bush, how much progress have we made toward saving the planet? Have we reduced our greenhouse gas emissions? Last year, we broke the record for most emissions by a nation in a single year. We have yet to sign onto the Kyoto Protocol and the President still acts as though global climate change is no big deal, just look at what he had to say about it:

"The Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy, if I can be blunt."
Well, as long as we're rolling up our sleeves and getting into a brush clearing mentality, allow me to be blunt Mr. President, Kyoto would give America the chance to lead rather than follow. We could start the Green Revolution right here, not only in the 29th District, but all across the entire nation.

We need a White House that at the bare minimum can accept basic scientific facts. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration went out of their way to hire an Oil lobbyist for the specific purpose of editing scientific data to make it seem less damning. This lobbyist, Philip Cooney, was hired by Exxon Mobil less than a week after he was forced to resign, go figure. Let us also remember that Bush's money came from Oil, Cheney's money came from Oil and ">Condoleezza Rice had a Chevron Oil Tanker named after her. Does anyone else sense a pattern here?

When you look at the voting record of my opponent, Randy Kuhl, it's no wonder that we're stuck in limbo. In 2005, the League of Conservation Voters gave him a score of 6 out of 100. Kuhl also received a 0 out of 100 from the American Wilderness Coalition and the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. I wonder if that had anything to do with his yea vote on the 2005 HR 6 Energy Bill, which “allowed for oil and gas exploration, development and production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.” I sure hope that Exxon Mobil and the National Fuel Gas PAC are getting their money's worth from Randy, I know the families of the 29th sure aren't.

Solution

Folks, it's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to save our planet. There is no silver bullet to instantaneously fix everything, but we need to collectively stand up and say, “We are going to save our environment and we are going to start right now.”

Despite what the Republican Party thinks, saving the world is not going to ruin our economy. Remember when all the Republican crying that the sky was going to fall when we moved to ban CFC's? Well now the ozone layer is on the rebound and I can't think of a single banned product that I've missed. If we look at global warming as an opportunity to create new industries, we can create new jobs and save the world at the same time.

I believe that making our nation energy independent will position us to lead the world by example and ultimately solve a number of issues including global warming. This past winter, I installed a wood pellet stove to heat my home. It runs on ground up switch grass pellets rather than foreign gas or oil, and you know what? It saved me a ton of money and put my dollars into the pocket of a local switch grass farmer rather than foreign oil companies.

On my website, I have outlined a four step plan to Energy Independence which I know can wean us off foreign oil and position us to take the lead in the alternative energy race.

1. Diversify energy sources: Reduce dependence on foreign oil, and make energy more secure, affordable, reliable - and less polluting. Through expanding research for wind power, hybrid energy, and ethanol fuel we can begin to shift our dependence away from foreign oil.

2. Invest in the industries of the future: promote new technologies, improve manufacturing processes, and expand markets for American durable goods. Once again the fields of hybrid energy, wind power, and ethanol fuel are the waves of the future.

3. Promote conservation and efficiency: wherever possible, set new standards for high performance, energy efficient buildings, cars, and industry. We need to continue to raise the bar for energy efficiency in both residential and industrial infrastructure. We need to hold industrial buildings to the latest ISO standards.

4. Invest in green cities and communities: renew our commitment to building smart public infrastructure for transportation, energy, and other vital public services.

We must drive the bus, not sit in the back. We have a tremendous opportunity to create a brand new alternative energy industry and save the world at the same time... seems pretty obvious what we must do, doesn't it.

Conclusion:

This past week, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi traveled to the Greenland to see the devastation of global warming firsthand. I applaud her for doing so, it's been a while since Democrats were poised to work on fixing our energy crisis.

The right to a Sustainable Environment is one of the most important parts of my New Bill of Rights. All of these Rights are connected to each other, and I believe that by standing together, we can solve the problems of not just our nation, but the entire world.

Of course, nothing I say means anything if you don't help me. I believe that we also need to address the problem of lobbyists in Washington, and as such, I do not accept Corporate PAC money. Thus I am reaching out to all of you to support my grassroots campaign. I am asking for 1000 people to step up and donate $100 to my campaign so we can tackle the issue of global warming in Washington. I need you to join me. Together, we can change the world.

Today, I'm afraid I am on the road and unable to hold my weekly live blog. Please do leave your comments and I will come back later on and answer everything, or you can contact me at my website.

Thank you,

-Eric Massa

#1 The Right to Not be Dragged into an Unnecessary War

#2 The Right to Quality, Affordable Healthcare

#3 The Right to Gainful Employment

My Previous Environmental Daily Kos Post:

Global Warming and People-Powered Politics