Political Quotes

“through the Chair, I would like to answer the Senator's question and then yield to the Senator from Connecticut. I thank my friend for pointing out that this is not just for those of us who consider ourselves environmentalists, this has become an economic issue as well. This has become a question of our national strategic priorities. There is a reason that Admiral Locklear, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, gave an address in which he called climate change the strategic threat in the Pacific theater. That is not because he is a member of the League of Conservation Voters or the Sierra Club, it is because he understands what is happening throughout the Pacific theater. There is a reason that Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus is leaning so heavily forward on the question of biofuels and clean energy. Again, it is not because his job is to be concerned with global climate change. His job is to make sure the Navy is as prepared as possible from a fuel standpoint and from a readiness standpoint. He sees new fuels as the way to go. The other part of this equation from the Department of Defense perspective is the amount of money we have to spend forward operating to protect our fuel supplies and fuel lines. To the extent we can have smart grid technology, better battery storage technology, new renewable energy generation, and better efficiency, all of that helps our troops, especially as they are forward deployed.…”