James M. Jeffords: “the choice seems easy to me. While the Clean Power Act would safeguard and surpass Clean Air Act emissions reductions…”

“the choice seems easy to me. While the Clean Power Act would safeguard and surpass Clean Air Act emissions reductions, Clear Skies would be a ticket to pollute. If Clear Skies legislation becomes law, we will all pay the price in hazy parks, smoggy cities, increased acid rain, and more trips to the emergency room. These are costs we cannot afford. I hope this message reaches the American public. The public should be very concerned about this administration's efforts to free polluters from environmental regulation. Clear Skies may sound like a good thing, but it is a smokescreen. In addition, Clear Skies does nothing to address global warming-- nothing. As you can see from this chart, Clear Skies ignores our commitment under the U.N. Framework Convention to return to 1990 levels of carbon dioxide. At a time when we should be adopting real measures to reduce CO2 levels to around two billion tons, the administration is promoting a 'business as usual' approach. This approach will result in around 3.5 billion tons of CO2. That is no way to protect the American economy or the world from climate change. The administration says we shouldn't worry, we should trust that their voluntary greenhouse gas reduction plan will help prevent climate change. I am not convinced. I am deeply concerned because I know that voluntary plans to date have not done enough to keep U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from rising.”