Posted on 12/10/2009 11:27:38 AM PST by jazusamo
COPENHAGEN — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar joined the Obama administration’s charm offensive in Copenhagen on Thursday — and took some shots at the Bush administration in the process.
“As much as the world awoke to the dangers of climate change, the political leadership of the United States simply slept,” Salazar said in a briefing at the U.S. center here. “Confronting the impact of climate change was simply not a priority.”
He said things have changed since the election of Barack Obama.
“I’m here in today in Copenhagen on behalf of President Obama to deliver a simple message: The United States of America understands the danger that climate change poses to our world, and we — as a nation — are committed to confronting that challenge,” Salazar said. “Together with our partners in the international community, we will help build strong, achievable carbon reduction strategies for our planet.”
Salazar is just the latest in a string of Obama administration officials to make the pilgrimage to Copenhagen — and he’ll hardly be the last. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson briefed conference participants Wednesday, and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is due Friday.
The officials have been tasked with trying to persuade a skeptic audience from 191 countries that the administration is serious on the environment — and that it has already done much to roll back Bush-era policies and regulations.
“Collectively, the actions we have taken in the last 11 months are opening up a new frontier for renewable energy production for the United States of America,” Salazar said. “On renewable energy, the truth speaks for itself. America’s vast deserts, plains, forests and oceans have been largely unexplored for their vast renewable energy potential. It was not a priority of the past administration.”
Salazar argued that legislation on clean energy could generate serious economic investments. “The possibilities are immense,” he said.
A strong proponent of offshore wind farms, Salazar spent the previous day inspecting Danish windmills, which supply about 20 percent of the country’s electricity. He said that, in the U.S., the administration had made significant investments in research and production of renewable energy.
“Now, there are some across this world, and indeed in the United States, who do not share our vision for American leadership for a clean energy economy. They defend the status quo. They complain that the path ahead is too costly too difficult or too uncertain,” he said.
“But I believe they are wrong. Their fears are misplaced. ... The international agreements that our nations are working on here in Copenhagen will propel us forward to a clean energy economy. So, too, will the comprehensive clean energy legislation that is moving through the United States Congress. The House has already passed the bill. The Senate has made progress on its version. And President Obama and I and the members of the Cabinet are working very closely every day to see that the job gets done.”
Yep, the enviro nazis scream bloody murder every time someone wants to put in wind or solar fields in pristine areas like the Mojave desert. Sheesh!
Bears sleep through climate change every year. Whats the big deal?
Understand their motives agenda, and you can predict their behaviors.
Agenda, baby, agenda. They are all about agenda. They set the agenda and we react. It's getting tiresome.
And to your point about them opposing anything viable: AMEN.
I’m getting tired of suffering the fools that continue to argue with them based on their false front premises.
Climate skepticism was bipartisan until just recently.
That’s a great way of putting it. :)
Thanks for the Monitor article which reminds me that all of this is just an extortion scheme to achieve global socialism: “underdeveloped nations” demanding $$$assistance$$$ from U.S. and Euros.
Hussein doesn’t realise it, but he’s becoming absolutely flattering to President Bush in his growing obsession with him. He’s fascinated with a man whom he could never have the integrity and character to be.
Exactly! We saw that during the 2008 campaign, McCain mouthing greenie platitudes, and it was disgusting. Global warming must be decried as having no credibility.
But this is our world: we are more endangered by climate change (which is completely natural and good) than by islamic jihad (evil, violent and breathing down your neck).
Thanks for the links.
Denmark has a population of 5.4 million while the U.S. has a population of 308 million. Ask T Boone Pickens how easy it is to put up one windmill farm in the United States. Just the transmission line would have cost $2 billion. I imagine one could have built most of Denmark's windmill farms with $2 billion.
I remember reading several articles stating that while the US did not sign onto Kyoto, we did more to cut carbon emissions than the European countries that did sign Kyoto.
Perhaps Interior Secretary Ken Salazar should do a little reading about issues he speaks of... before he speaks.
Excellent point and it seems like Zer0 is mentioning President Bush more as time passes rather than less.
Sorry Ken, you don’t speak for me and I didn’t elect you to do so. I don’t do climate change hoaxes.
As for President Bush, he was not willing to put some UN resolution over the Constitutional rights of Americans.
Facts just SUCK for you liberal whacko’s doesn’t it?
This is not an effort to build new energy sources. It is an effort to control the citizens of this nation.
You ARE correct! In the Kyoto Protocol, the US target was around 14 or 15% reduction. Through American entrepreneurship, the US has been able to reduce emissions by about 10 to 12%, without the heavy hand of government, the most of any industrialized nation.
When you think about the robustness of our economy (compared to say the Europeans) since Kyoto, that is an amazing feat!
The United States of America understands the danger that climate change poses to our world, and we — as a nation — are committed to confronting that challenge,” Salazar said.
Hmm...what does the temperature record show over the last ten years again? I think Bush stopped climate change. Prove me wrong.
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