Edwards Campaign Press Release - On Day Four Of "Bringing It Home" Bus Tour, Edwards Discusses Bold Plan To Protect The Environment And Fight Global Warming

Edwards will take on the big oil companies, polluters and power companies to address the great environmental challenge of our lifetime

Pawleys Island, South Carolina – On the fourth day of the his "Bringing It Home" bus tour across South Carolina, John Edwards today discussed his bold plan to protect South Carolina's coast, fight global warming and build a new energy economy that will create more than one million new jobs. At a town hall in Pawleys Island, Edwards outlined his plan to take on the big oil companies, power companies and polluters and achieve energy independence.

Throughout the tour, Edwards has been discussing his plans to bring about bold change and fight for the middle class. Born to a working class family in South Carolina and raised in small, rural mill towns, Edwards has spent his life taking on powerful interests on behalf of hard-working families like the ones he grew up with.

"We know that global warming is a crisis," said Edwards. "We know the need for action is urgent. And we know that the steps we need to take are sitting right in front of us. But Washington is not taking them. I see the oil and gas companies blocking progress by spending millions of dollars and deploying hundreds of lobbyists to Washington to make sure that America stays addicted to foreign oil and fossil fuels.

"If we have the courage to boldly change course we can transform it into a real opportunity for America," Edwards continued. "It won't be easy, but it is time to ask the American people to be patriotic about something other than war. If we harness American ingenuity, we can emerge from the crisis of global warming with a new energy economy that stimulates innovation, brings the family farm back to life, and creates more than one million jobs in America's farms and industries."

Global warming is a crisis, and without action we could be living in a fundamentally different planet. In South Carolina, higher sea levels could wipe out miles of property. Sea water would drown marshes, leaving the state more vulnerable to hurricane-related flooding. Higher property insurance rates are likely and the threat to South Carolina's fishing and tourism industries is real.

Edwards will protect the environment and fight global warming by:

• Halting Global Warming: Edwards will cap the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2010 and reduce it by at least 80 percent by 2050. He will create a New Energy Economy Fund to jumpstart clean and renewable energy technologies and create one million jobs. Edwards will also lead the world to a new global climate change treaty.
• Achieving Energy Independence: Edwards will rebuild our economy on homegrown sources of clean energy and energy efficiency. He will invest in safe, renewable energy to generate 25 percent of the nation's electricity by 2025, reject nuclear and unsafe coal power, transform the American auto industry and meet the demand for power with efficiency.
• Reversing the Bush Administration's War on Clean Air and Water: Edwards will work to reverse every harmful environmental executive order and regulation issued by the Bush Administration, strengthen the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, restore the "polluter pays" principle to the Superfund program, and protect and conserve open space, forests and wildlife.

Edwards' four-day tour comes on the heels of his homecoming tour, which saw crowds exceeding 1,000 South Carolinians in Clemson and 500 in Columbia. Edwards is the only candidate in the race who was born in South Carolina and he is the only Democratic candidate to ever win in a "red" state. Edwards leads the Democratic field in both campaign stops and money raised in the Palmetto State, and his campaign boasts an impressive statewide grassroots organization strengthened by deep support from Edwards' 2004 campaign.

Protecting the Environment and Achieving Energy Independence

"Our generation must be the one that says, 'we must halt global warming.' It is time to ask the American people to be patriotic about something other than war" - John Edwards

Global warming is a crisis, and without action we could be living in a fundamentally different planet. Our dependence on foreign oil also leaves us reliant on unstable and hostile areas of the world. In South Carolina, higher sea levels could wipe out miles of property. Sea water would drown marshes, leaving the state more vulnerable to hurricane-related flooding. Higher property insurance rates are likely and the threat to South Carolina's fishing and tourism industries is real. [Rock Hill Herald, 12/18/2006; The State, 12/10/2006 and 2/3/2007]

John Edwards will take on big oil companies, polluters and power companies to address the great environmental challenge of our lifetime. We have a responsibility to act as stewards of the planet for our children and grandchildren. By harnessing American ingenuity, we can emerge from the crisis of global warming with a new energy economy that stimulates innovation, brings the family farm back to life, and creates more than 1 million jobs in America's farms and industries.

Halting Global Warming

To halt global warming, Edwards will cap the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2010 and reduce it by 20 percent by 2020 and at least 80 percent by 2050. After a short transition period, all the permits will be sold. A portion of the revenue will be dedicated to the $13 billion-a-year New Energy Economy Fund to jumpstart clean and renewable energy technologies and create 1 million jobs. Edwards will also lead the world to a new global climate change treaty by sharing clean energy technology with cooperating nations and, if necessary, requiring minimum climate-change commitments in our trade deals.

Achieving Energy Independence

Edwards will rebuild our economy on homegrown sources of clean energy and energy efficiency. Specifically, he will:

• Invest in Renewable Electricity: Edwards will invest in safe, renewable energy like wind, solar power, and biomass to generate 25 percent of the nation's electricity by 2025.
• Reject Nuclear and Unsafe Coal Power: Edwards opposes the construction of new nuclear power plants, which are time consuming, extremely expensive, and generate waste that cannot yet be stored safely. He opposes new coal-fired power plants that cannot capture their carbon emissions and subsidies for the liquid coal industry that could make global warming worse.
• Transform the American Auto Industry: Edwards will raise fuel economy standards to 40 mpg by 2016, expand the use of biofuels like ethanol and invest $1 billion a year in helping American automakers lead the world in hybrid and electric cars and lightweight and fuel-efficient cars.
• Meet the Demand for Power with Efficiency: Edwards will set a national goal of using existing power to meet all new needs for the next decade, let power companies profit from efficiency as well as production and invest in more efficient buildings and appliances.

Reversing the Bush Administration's War on Clean Air and Water

In his first year as president, Edwards will work to reverse every harmful environmental executive order and regulation issued by the Bush Administration, strengthen the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, restore the "polluter pays" principle to the Superfund program, and protect and conserve open space, forests and wildlife.