Gore on the environment
Today, Al Gore testified to the house regarding changes needed to turn around our growing environmental issues. The following points are a brief summary of what Gore said; The Huffington Post has a point by point summary of Gore’s speech.
1. An immediate “carbon freeze” that would cap U.S. CO2 emissions at current levels, followed by a program to generate 90% reductions by 2050.
2. Start a long-term tax shift to reduce payroll taxes and increase taxes on CO2 emissions.
3. Put aside a portion of carbon tax revenues to help low-income people make the transition.
4. Create a strong international treaty by working toward “de facto compliance with Kyoto” and moving up the start date for Kyoto’s successor from 2012 to 2010.
5. Implement a moratorium on construction of new coal-fired power plants that are not compatible with carbon capture and sequestration.
6. Create an “ELECTRANET” — a smart electricity grid that allows individuals and businesses to feed power back in at prevailing market rates.
7. Raise CAFE standards.
8. Set a date for a ban on incandescent light bulbs.
9. Create “Connie Mae,” a carbon-neutral mortgage association, to help defray the upfront costs of energy-efficient building.
10. Have the SEC require disclosure of carbon emissions in corporate reporting, as a relevant “material risk.”
The suggestions are pretty radical, but I believe that at this point, radical changes are needed if we ever want to take control. Even if just a handful of Gore’s suggestions are implemented, we could see some serious energy savings. Our Houston oil companies won’t like that though. 
So I guess Gore won’t be running again for president. 
The above YouTube video is Gore’s opening words.
Filed under: Politics
