Regardless of where one stands on the issue of global climate change, it makes sense to enact sensible energy and environmental policies.  We need to continue to produce the energy that powers our homes, businesses and daily lives while we work toward more efficient energy sources.

 

The best way to address carbon emissions and other pollution is to develop innovative new technology that will have a real impact on our domestic energy use and production.  Using new technology will help make traditional energy sources cleaner while we work to transition to alternative and renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear power.  This also allows us to move toward more efficient energy production without imposing policies that would create severe economic damage.

 

By working to develop new technology to address pollution, we can make it a truly global effort to produce energy more efficiently.  India and China are two of the largest polluters in the world and their emissions are growing every day.  Since they have not yet agreed to any cuts in their industrial emissions, sharing technology to make their energy use cleaner will have a real impact on cutting emissions globally. The United States’ efforts alone will not solve global pollution issues.

 

A cap-and-trade system might better be called a cap-and-tax system.  Placing a cap on carbon emissions will make energy more expensive and the increased costs will not be paid by energy producers.  Those costs will be passed on to energy consumers who could see dramatic increases in their energy bills. 

 

As the Senate considers the issue of climate change, I will work to promote more efficient energy production that allows our country to move toward better energy production without causing economic harm.