In an interview with the Associated Press, Senator Lindsey Graham discussed his stance on climate change and why he has decided to join Sen. Kerry and Sen. Lieberman in the effort pass clean energy and climate legislation.
Asked why he decided to get involved in this issue, Sen. Graham responded: “The one thing that I could say without any doubt, that the best chance to create jobs for the future here in this country is energy independence. And you will never become energy independent until you price carbon.”
The U.S. Senate must fight back against old polluting industries and pass a strong clean-energy and jobs bill that will boost the economy, switch to renewable sources like wind and solar, and help fight global warming.
New Mexico is a great place to invest in alternative energy sources. We have significant solar, wind and geothermal resources. New Mexico also has significant clean-burning natural gas which can be used to replace dirty coal-fired sources of electricity and should be used to fuel vehicles instead of gasoline and diesel as an interim step to developing greater and more efficient alternative energy sources.
Natural gas, when used to replace oil based energy can have very beneficial effects on the economy of the USA by lowering energy costs, improving America’s balance of payments, reducing the risks of international instability as well as cleaning up the environment.
COAL IS THE NUMBER ONE OFFENDER. You should introduce legislation which will place significant tax penalties on coal fired plants along with federal subsidies to convert existing coal fired plants to natural gas.
You should introduce legislation to establish natural gas refueling pumps at all fuel stops along the Interdtate Highway system. This way truckers and consumers will know that they can convert from diesel to natural gas vehicles without worrying about whether they will be able to refuel.
Natural gas used as vehicle fuel, as an interim step to solar, wind and geothermal sources, should not be taxed. This will provide additional incentive to switch from gasoline/diesel fuel.
A strong bill must ensure that we meet emission-reduction targets by reducing global-warming pollution from old, dirty power plants and by driving renewable-energy development and energy-efficiency improvements. This legislation must also protect consumers, natural resources, and vulnerable communities here and around the world.
I urge you to help pass comprehensive clean-energy and climate legislation next year to jump-start the clean-energy economy our country needs.
I hope that the government does something about jobs. Nafta has put millions out of work. Wall Street ended many 401 accounts. Taxes going up, nothing made in America. And our way of life controlled by stupid people. Elected people are supposed to serve the people, not big business. The bad decision’s of the past have brought us to this mess we have now.
To the Honorable Senator Lindsey Graham,
Thank you for your efforts in protecting our environment. We too at FreshWater Unlimited recognized the importance of green energy and for the past decade have been working on a perfect energy solution that has zero pollution. Our technology uses solar energy to desalinate seawater and produces electricity in the process. We now have an economical way of generating electricity and freshwater in huge quantities. We also have engineered several solid hydrogen fuel molecules that will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Steven Jones, VP