Obama Steps Up…When Will Clinton? « It’s Getting Hot In Here

After John Edwards thrashed Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in MoveOn’s online straw poll on climate and energy, I wrote a piece here asking when the two front-runners would offer up their own bold and comprehensive proposal.

Obama finally has (for the most part) - see his announcement here.

There’s some great stuff, including a 100% auction of pollution credits towards a cap to reduce emissions 80% by 2050, $150 billion spent on clean energy and green jobs and making the U.S. a leader in international negotiations. All good things and part of the 1Sky platform we’re advocating for at Power Shift, our first-ever national youth summit.

This paragraph from his proposal is particularly good and sounds like things we’ve been advocating for here and with our allies at Green For All:

Barack Obama also believes the transition to a clean energy economy holds special promise for low-income communities and families, which are poised to shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden of global climate change. To combat this problem, Obama will create an energy-focused youth jobs program to invest in disconnected and disadvantaged youth. This program will provide youth participants with energy efficiency and environmental service opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings in their communities, while also providing them with practical skills and experience in important career fields of expected high-growth employment. The program will engage private sector employers and unions to provide apprenticeship opportunities. Participants will not only be able to use their training to find new jobs, but also build skills that will help them move up the career ladder over time.”

There’s also some key things not to like in Obama’s plan, like investments in “low-emissions coal plants” (remember Harry Reid saying there’s no such thing as clean coal?), his short-term emissions target of 1990 levels by 2020 (ahem, the European Union is aiming for 30% below 1990 levels by 2020 if the U.S. steps up), and his energy intensity target that sounds dangerously like a notorious Bushism.

But it’s a start. The big question for me now is … When’s Hillary Clinton going to get serious about this issue?

About Billy

Billy Parish is Co-Founder and Coordinator of the Energy Action Coalition. Billy has taken four years off from Yale, where he was co-chair of the Yale Student Environmental Coalition and was majoring in Ethics, Politics & Economics. Billy was a 2004 Brower Youth Award Winner, 2005 Rolling Stone magazine "Climate Hero," Mother Jones magazine's 2006 "Student Activist of the Year," and was recently named a "Fellow" by Ashoka, the global association of the world's leading social entrepreneurs. A co-author of the report "New Energy for Campuses," a guide for colleges and universities on how to cost-effectively cut their greenhouse gas emissions, Billy works to train students and equip them with the tools they need to implement local climate solutions. A native of New York City, Billy now works out of the Washington D.C. office of the Energy Action Coalition.

2 Responses to “Obama Steps Up…When Will Clinton?”

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1 johnnyraygun Oct 12th, 2007 at 10:15 pm

Hillary should have got together with Al and done something a long time ago to avoid this mess in the first place. She is not what you call visionary. Her team will feel the waters then probably copy Obama’s plan. We cannot let her celebrate her own coronation. Everyone needs to vote. Let’s get serious about solving problems.

1 2008 Presidential Election » Obama Steps Up…When Will Clinton? Trackback on Nov 5th, 2007 at 5:10 am

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