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To the editor:
I called Scott Brown a couple of weeks ago to voice my support for the American Power Act, the landmark climate and energy bill introduced by Senators Kerry and Lieberman.
He responded by saying he supported reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to clean economy, but, "I believe that if we are going to take any dramatic actions in imposing a hard cap on carbon dioxide emissions, we must ensure participation by other high-emitting nations, such as China and India, so that well-intentioned U.S. efforts won't just send jobs overseas where low standards could cause even greater harm to our global environment."
I didn't think U.S. Sen. Brown took his leadership queues from China and India. These are fast-growing economies, working to pull hundreds of millions out of poverty.
The U.S. has emitted the lion's share of greenhouse gases over the past 100 years, which are driving and will continue to drive the devastating climate disruption we're already seeing.
Yes, China and India will need to act (they already are, China leads the world in clean energy investing with twice as much as the U.S.) but it's misguided and dangerous to wait for binding agreements with them — we have a responsibility and a huge opportunity to take the lead now.
The American Power Act sets reasonable caps on destructive carbon emissions, which tighten over time. It provides the clear, consistent price signals that our leading businesses have been demanding for years.
It has strong consumer protections — rebating money back to consumers, so the very modest increases we might see in our energy bills will be offset with money back.
It also provides incentives for research and innovation — exactly what we need to drive a real, sustained economic recovery. The non-partisan Peterson Institute for International Economics concludes it will create a net increase in 200,000 jobs annually just from the direct actions of the bill — that doesn't even include the most important source of job creation: "potential employment benefits of increased U.S. competitiveness in clean energy exports, unlocking profitable investment opportunities in energy efficiency, and spillover from clean energy innovation into other sectors is not quantified in this analysis."
Those "employment benefits" are huge — this legislation will foster the creation of completely new industries, and the millions of jobs that will come with them.
What's more, we spend $1 billion per day on oil — shipping all that money out of our economy, mostly to countries that don't like us very much. We send $100 million per day to Iran alone.
The veterans group Operation Free — you can "Google" it) is on a mission to help senators like Brown see why this legislation is so important, why we must pass it this year, and why we can't wait for China and India to lead while we finance the people who put our soldiers in harm's way.
Please call Scott Brown today (office number, 202-224-4543) and let him know you want his leadership in passing the American Power Act in its current form or stronger — for our economy, for our veterans, and for our future.
GEORGES DYER
Essex Avenue, Gloucester
