Climate change denial has become a litmus test for modern Republicans, but Rick Santorum, in his fondness for melding faith and government, has become one of the precious few to cite the Bible as evidence that the science-accepting crowd has it all wrong — and apparently the first to bring that thinking to the presidential stage.
“We were put on this Earth as creatures of God to have dominion over the Earth, to use it wisely and steward it wisely, but for our benefit not for the Earth’s benefit,” Santorum told a Colorado crowd earlier this month.
He went on to call climate change “an absolute travesty of scientific research that was motivated by those who, in my opinion, saw this as an opportunity to create a panic and a crisis for government to be able to step in and even more greatly control your life.”
The surging presidential hopeful fleshed out this argument further this Sunday on CBS Face The Nation, when asked to justify his recent controversial claim that President Obama has a “phony theology” that’s not “based on the Bible.” He said the President sides with “radical environmentalists” who don’t understand what God intended to be the relationship between humans and the planet.
“When you have a worldview that elevates the Earth above man and says that we can’t take those resources because we’re going to harm the Earth; by things that frankly are just not scientifically proven, for example, the politicization of the whole global warming debate — this is all an attempt to, you know, to centralize power and to give more power to the government,” Santorum said.
Wow. So "Frothy" Ricky Santorum is basing all his extremist policies on his extreme theology. Isn't that precious?
Well, at least Willard "Mr. 1%" Romney is basing all his extremist policies on something more commonly seen in politics today: MONEY. That seems to be why Romney is so strongly opposed to the fastest growing industry in America.
The U.S. solar industry grew 102% [in 2010] and [was] on track to grow another 100% [in 2011]. What other industry doubled its growth during one of the worst economic periods in our history?
The GOP has been using the Solyndra debacle to talk about “pet alternative energy.” This nonsense ignores the incredible growth and cost reductions taking place in the solar industry. Since 2008, average PV [photovoltaic] prices have fallen 80%. And with innovative approaches to installation, the total installed cost of installations have fallen substantially as well.
A recent report found that America actually had a $1.9 billion trade surplus of solar products to the rest of the world in 2010. And that same report, put together by GTM Research, found that 73% of the economic value of a solar installation stays in the U.S.
And our next door neighbor is seeing a phenomenal amount of investment in green technology.
When it comes to U.S. venture capital funding for the most promising new green technology firms, there's California and there's everybody else.
California companies raked in $2.8 billion, or 57%, of the $4.9 billion in venture capital offered up in the so-called clean-tech category of funding nationwide last year, according to a recently released analysis from Ernst & Young. [...]
"It's a good indicator of the innovation that can be found here and of the opportunities available in California," said Mark Sogomian, an Ernst & Young partner and leader of its clean-tech group in Los Angeles.
California has that "secret sauce that allows companies to grow and develop and gain capital," Sogomian said. [...]
"Clean-tech is still in the early stages of a long-term journey," Spencer said. "We've reached a point where new products and services are ready to be launched, and as these products come to market, we're seeing renewed interest, innovation and opportunity."
And we've seen for ourselves the potential for green tech to create jobs and restore our economy. Just look at all the potential we have!
It's just too bad that petty politics continues to get in the way of true progress. If Ricky Santorum really doesn't believe in climate change, then he needs to talk to folks in Reno who have experienced its extreme effects firsthand. And he needs to talk to water officials both in Snake Valley and in Las Vegas over the rural Nevada and Utah water they're fighting over (due to the ongoing region-wide Southwestern Drought). We're already seeing the extreme effects of climate change take hold in Nevada.
However, we're also starting to see the effects of action to curb climate change. When we've seen investment in clean energy, we've seen jobs being created. Investment in green technology is truly a "win-win" for Nevada, and for America. And for the likes of Romney and Santorum (and the Nevada politicians who follow them) to oppose something that's such a clear "win-win" for America is downright stupid.
No comments:
Post a Comment