Second
Debate Highlights "Agenda Gap" on Energy; 100 Organizations Present
Energy Plan for "First 100 Days"
Agenda
focuses
on
energy affordability, health, water, environment and climate
change
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2012
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a heated exchange in the second
presidential debate, the focus was on who would do the most for
the
coal industry and who would drill even more for oil and gas on
public
land. In stark contrast to this discussion, 100 grassroots
organizations with 1.7 million members
nationwide today issued a "First
100 Days" clean energy agenda for the next President of the United
States.
The American Clean Energy Agenda focuses on reducing our reliance
on coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear power, and supporting rapid
expansion of renewable energy.
The full text of the agenda and the list of the 100 groups endorsing it
so far are available online at
http://www.AmericanCleanEnergyAgenda.org.
The
first-100-days
clean energy agenda is an outgrowth of the
American Clean Energy Agenda project, which was unveiled in June 2012
and initially supported by 36 U.S. citizen organizations with more than
1.1 million members nationwide.
CSI President Pam Solo said: "In
poll after poll that we've conducted, it's clear the public supports a
truly clean energy future. The public favors energy sources that
are
not water intensive and do not pose health risks or require unending
subsidies from public funds. They understand that it cannot happen
overnight and that it will only happen when serious policy making
replaces public posturing. The American Clean Energy Agenda is a
call
for decisive leadership toward a truly clean energy future."
Heather White, chief of staff, Environmental Working Group, said: "It's
not the country that's on the wrong track, it's the debate over our
energy future. We've heard a lot of talk about a gender gap, but
Tuesday night in Hempstead we saw an 'agenda gap' on energy policy.
No matter who is elected President, Americans want a clean energy path
that protects their communities' health and safety, conserves and
protects their water resources and is affordable and reliable. The next
President must act quickly to get us there in the first 100 days of his
Administration."
The first-100-days clean energy agenda calls on the next U.S. President
to:
- First, work to establish a much-needed national water policy in
order to avert or mitigate the current and future water scarcity
problems that face the nation if today's electric generation mix
remains unchanged or becomes even more dependent on fossil fuel-fired
and nuclear power. Power generation in the U.S. currently
accounts for
41 percent of all fresh water withdrawals.
- Secondly, the President must establish sustainability criteria to
guide the choice and deployment of new electricity generating
technologies. Americans require and support a power system that is
affordable and reliable, consumes modest volumes of water,
substantially reduces public health impacts, improves environmental
quality and addresses climate change. The incoming administration
should work to eliminate all public support for energy technologies
that do not meet these criteria.
- Third, the next administration must begin to make energy
efficiency
and non-combustion-based renewable energy technologies the core of the
electric power system and adopt policies and programs that lead to
eventual replacement of fossil fuel-fired and nuclear power plants.
- Fourth, and finally, the next President must make it a priority
to ensure that the United States
becomes the acknowledged global leader in job-creating clean energy
technologies and in confronting the challenge of climate change.
A related April 25, 2012 ORC International survey conducted for CSI is
available online at
http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org/media/042512release.cfm.
That
survey
found:
- More than three out of four Americans (76 percent) – including 58
percent of Republicans, 83 percent of Independents, and 88 percent of
Democrats -- think that the United States
should move to a sustainable energy future through "a reduction in our
reliance on nuclear power, natural gas and coal, and instead, launch a
national initiative to boost renewable energy and energy efficiency."
- However, the bipartisan support for clean energy does not mean
that Americans think that Washington, D.C.,
is on the same page with them. More than three out of four
Americans
(77 percent) – including 70 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of
Independents, and 85 percent of Democrats -- believe that "the energy
industry's extensive and well-financed public relations, campaign
contributions and lobbying machine is a major barrier to moving
beyond
business as usual when it comes to America's energy policy."
ABOUT THE GROUPS
Based in Newton, MA, the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society
Institute (
http://www.CivilSocietyInstitute.org)
is a think tank that serves as a catalyst for change by creating
problem-solving interactions among people, and between communities,
government and business that can help to improve society. Since 2003,
CSI has conducted more than 25 major national and state-level surveys
and reports on energy and auto issues, including vehicle
fuel-efficiency standards, consumer demand for hybrids/other
highly-fuel efficient vehicles, global warming and renewable energy. In
addition to being a co-convener of TheCLEAN.org (
http://www.TheClean.org),
the
Civil
Society Institute also is the parent organization of the
Hybrid Owners of America (
http://www.HybridOwnersofAmerica.org).
EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C. that
uses the power of information to protect human health and the
environment.
http://www.ewg.org.
Note:
The sponsors of the American Clean Energy Agenda initiative do not
endorse or intend to endorse any candidate for office. The
release of
the "100 Days" report is intended to provide information to the public
on what constitutes an effective problem-solving energy policy.
CONTACT: Ailis Aaron Wolf, for CSI, at (703) 276-3265 or
aawolf@hastingsgroup.com;
and
Alex
Formuzis, for EWG, at 202-667-6982 or
alex@ewg.org.
SOURCE Civil Society Institute; and Environmental Working Group,
Washington, D.C.