Hillary's Record: Protecting Our Environment

by alegre, Mon Aug 20, 2007 at 09:48:10 AM EDT

Some of you may have caught my diary about Hillary's visit to a green building construction site, and how she wowed the scientists working on that project with her detailed knowledge of what they're trying to do at that site. I didn't realize it at the time, but her knowledge of the issues in this area comes (in part) from her work on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and as chair of the Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee. I'd known she was a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, but her work on environmental issues doesn't get as much press.

So, to help further your knowledge of Hillary's record on the environment, I'm putting up her issue paper on this issue, along with statements and links to legislation she's proposed and is fighting to enact into law. Make the jump...

REDUCING GLOBAL WARMING, PROMOTING ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT
Hillary recognizes that climate change is one of the most pressing moral issues of our time. As Senator, she has supported policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other pollution that is causing climate change. As President, Hillary would lead the charge to halt global warming by investing in clean energy technologies, establishing a national market-based program to reduce glob pollution, improving our fuel efficiency and returning the United States to a leadership position in international efforts to address the problem.
Hillary's Vision
As President, Hillary will:
Create a Strategic Energy Fund - Hillary has proposed a Strategic Energy Fund that would inject $50 billion into research, development and deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal technology, ethanol and other homegrown biofuels. Hillary's proposal would give oil companies a choice: invest in renewable energy or pay into the fund. Hillary's proposal would also eliminate oil company tax breaks and make sure that oil companies pay their fair share for drilling on public lands. Instead of sending billions of dollars to the Middle East for their oil, Hillary's proposal will create a new clean energy industry in America and create tens of thousands of jobs here.
Champion a Market-Based "Cap and Trade" Approach - Hillary supports a market-based, cap and trade approach to reducing carbon emissions and fight global warming. This approach was used successfully to limit sulfur dioxide and reduce levels of acid rain in the 1990s. By capping the amount of emissions in the environment and allowing corporations to buy and sell permits, this approach offers corporations a flexible, cost-efficient method to do their share to reduce emissions and combat global warming. The program will reduce emissions, drive the development of clean technologies, and create a market for projects that store carbon dioxide.
20% Renewable Electricity Standard by 2020 - Hillary believes we need to shift our reliance on high carbon electricity sources to low-carbon electricity sources by investing in renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind. As President, she'll work to require power companies to obtain 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Make Federal Buildings Carbon Neutral - Hillary believes that the federal government should lead the way in reducing carbon emissions from buildings. Buildings account for 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and the federal government owns or leases more than 500,000. Hillary would require all federal buildings to steadily increase the use of green design principles, energy efficient technologies, and to generate energy on-site from solar and other renewable sources. By 2030, all new federal buildings and major renovations would be carbon neutral, helping to fight global warming and cutting the $5.6 billion that the federal government spends each year on heating, cooling and lighting.
Protecting Against Exposure to Toxic Chemicals - Hillary wants to make the products we use safer, especially for children. There are tens of thousands of chemicals used in the U.S. and hundreds of new chemicals introduced each year, but little health testing is conducted for many of them. Hillary would require chemical companies to prove that new chemicals are safe before they are put on the market, and would set more stringent exposure standards for kids. She would also create a "priority list" of existing chemicals and require testing to make sure they are safe. To improve our understanding of the links between chemicals and diseases like cancer, Hillary would create an "environmental health tracking network" that ties together information about pollution and chronic diseases.
Hillary's Record
Hillary has been a leading member of the Environment and Public Works Committee since she was elected to the Senate. Today, she chairs the Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee and in that capacity has promoted legislation to evaluate and protect against the impact of environmental pollutants on people's health and clean up toxic waste.
Global warming and Clean Air
Spoken out forcefully about the need to tackle global warming in hearings, speeches, rallies and on the Senate floor and co-sponsored "cap and trade" legislation.
Worked to reduce air pollution that causes asthma and other respiratory diseases by writing and helping to pass new laws to clean up exhaust from school buses, and other diesel-powered equipment.
Supported legislation to reduce pollution from power plants, including harmful emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, and carbon dioxide - emissions that contribute to poor air quality, smog, acid rain, global warming, and mercury contamination of fish.
Aggressively fought the Bush Administration's ill-advised attempts to weaken clean air laws.
Improving Water Quality and Protecting Drinking Water
Helped to overturn the Bush Administration's attempt to allow more arsenic in drinking water.
Cosponsored legislation to protect lakes, rivers and coastal waters by fighting the spread of destructive invasive species, such as the zebra mussel.
Helped ot pass new clean water laws, including measures to protect New York City's water supplies and clean up Long Island Sound.
Protecting Public Lands
Fought oil company efforts to pen the Artic Wildlife Refuge in Alask and Pacific and Atlantic coastal waters to drilling.
Cosponsored the Roadless Area Conservation Act, which prohibits road construction and logging in unspoiled, roadless areas of the National Forest System, and voted for additional funding and manpower to combat forest fires in the west.
Reducing Dangerous Chemicals and Cleaning Up Hazardous Waste
Supported legislation to restore the "polluter pays" principle by reinstating a chemical company fee to fund cleanups of highly contaminated "Superfund" waste sites.
Cosponsored the "kids-Safe Chemical Act," which requires chemical companies to provide health and safety before putting new chemicals in consumer products.
Proposed legislation to create an environmental health tracking network to enable us to better understand the impact of environmental hazards on human health and well-being.
Tackling the Toxic Legacy of 9/11
Pushed for health care benefits for first responders, residents and others whose health has been impacted from breathing the toxic dust and smoke in New York City after 9/11.

Hillary's Senate office has put out a press statement regarding her plan to create strategic energy fund to invest in clean energy technology HERE...

(this link also includes a video - check that out as well)

Senator Clinton's legislation will create a Strategic Energy Fund to help pay for the clean energy transition. The legislation eliminates oil company tax breaks and ensures that they pay their fair share of royalties for drilling on public lands. The legislation also places a temporary fee on major oil company profits that exceed a 2000-2004 profit baseline. The fee would be in place for two years, and companies could offset their fee by investing in alternative energy technologies such as ethanol and wind power. The Strategic Energy Fund would raise $50 billion to fund research, development and deployment of energy technologies that will reduce America's oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions. The Strategic Energy Fund will:
Deliver Clean Coal Technology. $3.5 billion in tax incentives and grants to build 5 clean coal plants that can capture and store carbon dioxide and reduce global warming.
Invest in Renewable Energy. Move America towards the goal of producing 25 percent of electricity from renewable sources by extending the production tax credit for generating electricity from wind and other renewable sources for five years.
Transform America's Vehicles. Put more efficient vehicles on the road by quadrupling consumer tax breaks for hybrids, clean diesel, and other advanced vehicles, creating incentives for auto manufacturers to retool their facilities, and putting $500 million towards advanced battery research to speed development of "plug-in" hybrid vehicles.
Accelerate Homegrown Biofuels. Extend the ethanol tax credit until 2012, and speed the development of cellulosic ethanol by providing loan guarantees for the first billion gallons of commercial production capacity, and providing $2 billion for research.
Improve Efficiency. Increase incentives to make homes and offices more comfortable and cheaper to operate by improving energy efficiency.
Unleash American Ingenuity. Accelerate energy research by creating a $9 billion "Advanced Research Projects Agency" for energy.

And she recently unveiled her plans for a "Green Building Fund", and her campaign's put up a press release on this new effort HERE ...

Through the fund, the federal government would allocate $1 billion annually to states to make grants or low-interest loans to improve energy efficiency in public buildings, such as schools, police stations, firehouses and offices. The GBF will create as many as 50,000 new "green collar" jobs.
"This is a moment of profound change and challenge for our nation," said Senator Clinton. "Energy efficiency is the cheapest, cleanest, fastest technology we have to cut energy use and reduce emissions. We'll invest $1 billion annually to help states improve energy efficiency in public buildings, cut pollution, combat climate change, and create 50,000 `green collar' jobs. If we do this right, it can be a win, win for our economy and our environment."
snip
The GBF could be used for energy efficiency upgrades at existing buildings, to cover the additional upfront costs of making new buildings energy efficient and to also make low-interest loans to small businesses for energy efficiency upgrades.

(Green collar jobs... I really like that description. And who knows? It might work it's way in to our every day language some day soon).

Another major initiative of hers is S. 1059 which would require that all federally-owned or leased buildings be carbon neutral by a certain date.

Link to Hillary's Senate page on the Environment and Energy Issues

I know there's a lot here and it's not exactly a "sexy" topic, but I thought this issue was worth more than a few words. Hillary's done a lot of work in the fight against global warming and I'm convinced that the more people learn about this and other aspects of her extensive work and experience, the more impressed they'll be.

And for additional links regarding Hillary's record, I would encourage you to check out the following links...

HILLARYCLINTON.COM
HILLARYHUB.COM
CLINTON.SENATE.GOV
Research tool - THOMAS or you can search bills / votes from a previous congress by going to the advanced search page HERE.
FLOOR SPEECH PRIOR TO IRAQ VOTE
HILLARY'S VOTING RECORD.
HILLARY / OBAMAS VOTES
HILLARY / EDWARDS VOTES
Hillary / Obama / Lieberman Votes
Media Matters Smacks Down Permanent Bases BS
Liberal rankings sites...
National Journal
Drum Major Institute
GovTrack Political Spectrum
Progressive Punch
Rankings in the 110th Congress
On The Issues - Hillary's Record For voting record and quotes on various issues.
GlobalTradeWatch's Diary - Rankings on Trade Issues Hillary voted no on CAFTA twice.
DNC LTE TOOL
Hillary's Ad in Iowa - Not Invisable

Oh and one more thing - Hat tip to Caldonia for pointing this out...

The Clinton campaign as a whole is CARBON NEUTRAL...

By partnering with Native Energy to support renewable energy projects and purchase carbon offsets, the Clinton campaign will balance out the carbon emissions produced by its offices and travel, making it carbon neutral. For more information on carbon offsets and Native Energy's programs, visit www.nativeenergy.com.

That web-site again is http://www.nativeenergy.com/.

Cross-posted at DailyKos.com

Tags: 2008 elections, campaign, Environment, Global Warming, green initiatives, Hillary Clinton, president (all tags)

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Tips For A Greener World

I never realized she'd done so much on this front. I wish the candidates would put this issue more front & center - we really need to get moving on this front!

by alegre 2007-08-20 09:49AM | 0 recs

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no offense, but are you old enough

to remember the 1992 campaign? Clinton had a lot of great talk about his "putting people first" agenda. Then before he was even inaugurated he let the Wall St crowd talk him out of many things he promised to advocate for.

I rarely see Clinton supporters acknowledge how people persuaded Bill that the bond markets wouldn't tolerate what he promised.

I have little trust in Hillary to make environmental issues a priority. The business lobby will talk her into a "pragmatic" approach that means little progress on the big problems.

by desmoinesdem 2007-08-21 07:50AM | 0 recs

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Very eye openning - super informative

Thanks for all that great info.

I think many will find it very helpful.

by dpANDREWS 2007-08-20 09:49AM | 0 recs

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I Sure Hope So dpAndrews

The more people get to know Hillary & her amazing record, the more they're going to like and support her.

Of that I'm convinced!

by alegre 2007-08-20 09:50AM | 0 recs

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Re: I Sure Hope So dpAndrews

I see you have heeded to call to post more often here.

Great.

by lori 2007-08-20 09:54AM | 0 recs

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Bill Clinton's envrionmental record was pathetic

and cost Gore a lot of votes. Do you think 3 million people would have voted for Nader if Clinton had shown leadership on environmental issues?

Hillary has the least detailed energy policy, and given her husband's record and the support she gets from corporate lobbyists, she is the candidate in our field I'd expect to do the least for the environment as president. Of course she would be better than a Republican, but I'd trust Edwards, Obama, Richardson and Dodd to do a lot better.

by desmoinesdem 2007-08-21 07:46AM | 0 recs

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Re: Bill Clinton's envrionmental record was pathet

Here's some of Bill Clinton's "pathetic" record on the environment:

Bill Clinton issued an Executive Order on Environmental Justice to ensure that low-income citizens and minorities do not suffer a disproportionate burden of industrial pollution. Launched pilot projects in low-income communities across the country to redevelop contaminated sites into useable space, create jobs and enhance community development.

President Bill Clinton sought permanent funding of $1.4 billion a year through the Lands Legacy initiative to expand federal efforts to save America's natural treasures and provide significant new resources to states and communities to protect local green spaces and protect ocean and coastal resources. Won $652 million for Lands Legacy in the FY 2000 budget, a 42 percent increase.

Launched effort to protect over 40 million acres of "roadless areas," which include some of America's last wild places. Dramatically improved management of our national forests with an ambitious new science-based agenda that places greater emphasis on recreation, wildlife and water quality, while reforming logging practices to ensure steady, sustainable supplies of timber and jobs. Balanced the preservation of old-growth stands with the economic needs of timber-dependent communities through the Pacific Northwest Forest Plan.

Adopted a uniform tailpipe standard to passenger cars, SUVs and other light-duty trucks, producing cars that are 77 percent cleaner -- and light-duty trucks up to 95 percent cleaner -- than those on the road today. Set new standard to reduce average sulfur levels in gasoline by up to 90 percent. Once fully implemented in 2030, these measures will prevent 43,000 premature deaths and 173,000 cases of childhood respiratory illness each year, and reduce emissions by the equivalent to removing 164 million cars from the road.

# Approved strong new clean air standards for soot and smog that could prevent up to 15,000 premature deaths a year and improve the lives of millions of Americans who suffer from respiratory illnesses. Defending the standards against legal assaults by polluters.

# Accelerating Toxic Waste Cleanups. Completed cleanup at 515 Superfund sites, more than three times as many as the previous two administrations, with cleanup of more than 90 percent of all sites either completed or in progress. Secured $1.4 billion in FY 2000 to continue progress toward cleaning up 900 Superfund sites by 2002.

# Providing Safe Drinking Water: Proposed and signed legislation to strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act and ensure that our families have healthy clean tap water. Required America's 55,000 water utility companies to provide regular reports to their customers on the quality of their drinking water.

# Established EPA's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) that provides grants to States to finance priority drinking water projects that meet Clean Water Act mandates. To date, the DWSRFs have provided $1.9 billion in loans to communities.

# Awarded nearly $200 million in Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans and grants for over 100 safe drinking water projects in rural areas of 40 states. USDA grants and loans target rural communities plagued by some of the nation's worst water quality and dependability problems.

# Expanded Safe Drinking Water Act protections to protect 40 million additional Americans in small communities from potentially dangerous microbes, including Cryptosporidium, in their drinking water.

# Ensuring Clean Water. Launched the Clean Water Action Plan to help clean up the 40 percent of America's surveyed waterways still too polluted for fishing and swimming. Secured $3.9 billion since 1998, a 16 percent increase, to help states, communities and landowners in reducing polluted runoff, enhancing natural resource stewardship, improving citizens' right to know, and protecting public health.

# Strengthening Communities' Right to Know. Strengthened the public's right to know about chemicals released into their air and water by partnering with the chemical industry and the environmental community in an effort to provide complete data on the potential health risks of the 2,800 most widely used chemicals. Nearly doubled the number of chemicals that industry must report to communities, while expanding the number of facilities that must report by 30 percent.

# Expanded the community right to know about releases of 27 persistent bio-accumulative toxins (including mercury, dioxin, and PCBs). These highly toxic chemicals are especially risky because they do not break down easily and are known to accumulate in the human body.

# Secured $83 million in FY 2000 for two major new efforts to restore salmon in the Pacific Northwest: $58 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, which provides resources for states and tribes to protect and rebuild salmon stocks; and $25 million to implement the historic Pacific Salmon Treaty with Canada, which established two regional funds to improve fisheries management and enhance bilateral scientific cooperation between the two countries and provides funding to buy back fishing permits in Washington.

# Expanding Wildlife Refuges. Added 57,000 acres, including lands along the last free-flowing section of the Columbia River, to the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge to protect salmon habitat in Washington.

# Forging Partnerships to Protect Habitat. Completed 255 major Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), compared to 14 before the Administration took office, to protect more than 20 million acres of private land and over 170 threatened and endangered species. These voluntary agreements protect habitat while providing landowners the certainty they need to effectively manage their lands.

# Strengthening Protections for Wildlife. Signed legislation that strengthens protections for wildlife by mandating that the most important use of our nation's wildlife refuges is giving refuge to migratory birds and other animals reliant on this rich system of natural habitat.

Protecting our Oceans and Coasts

# Creating Comprehensive Oceans Policy. Directed the development of key recommendations for strengthening federal oceans policy for the 21st century and appointed a high-level task force to oversee the implementation of those recommendations. Convened a National Ocean Conference in June 1998 that brought together government experts, business executives, scientists, environmentalists, elected officials and the public to examine opportunities and challenges in restoring and protecting our ocean resources.

# Strengthening Our National Marine Sanctuaries. Secured a funding increase of over 100% to better support national marine sanctuaries -- homes to coral reefs, kelp forests, humpback whales, and loggerhead turtles. Supporting the five-year Sustainable Seas Expeditions to explore, study and document ways to better protect underwater resources.

# Preserving Coral Reefs. Issued an Executive Order to expand protection of coral reefs and their ecosystems to address issues of coral reef management, expansion of marine protected areas and increased protections for coral reef species.

# Protecting Marine Mammals. Led negotiations resulting in a multilateral agreement to protect dolphins in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Issued new standards to protect the endangered northern right whale from injuries from ships by instituting a first-ever ship reporting requirement in two areas of right whale critical habitat. Fought for creation of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, an area of more than 12 million square miles off the coast of Antarctica.

# Banning Ocean Dumping of Toxic Waste. Led the world in calling for a global ban on ocean dumping of low-level radioactive waste. The U.S. was the first nuclear power to advocate the ban.

Introduced "Better America Bonds" to generate $10.75 billion in bond authority over five years to preserve open space, improve water quality and clean up abandoned and contaminated properties known as brownfields. Local communities can work together in partnerships with land trust groups, environmentalists, business leaders and others to develop innovative solutions to their community's development challenges.

# Provided leadership critical to successful negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol, which sets strong, realistic targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and establishes flexible, market-based mechanisms to achieve them as cost-effectively as possible.

# Investing in Clean Energy Research. Won more than $1 billion in FY 1999 and in FY 2000 for the Climate Change Technology Initiative, a program of clean energy research and development that will save energy and consumers money. Extended the tax credits for wind and biomass energy production through 2001, reducing emissions and reliance on imported oil.

# Growing Clean Energy Technologies. Issued an Executive Order to coordinate federal efforts to spur the development and use of bio-based technologies, which can convert crops, trees and other "biomass" into a vast array of fuels and materials. Set a goal of tripling our use of bioenergy and bioproducts by 2010 to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by up to 100 million tons a year -- the equivalent of taking 70 million cars off the road.

# Improving Scientific Understanding. Increased funding for the United States Global Change Research Program to more than $1.7 billion in FY 2000 to provide a sound scientific understanding of both the human and natural forces that influence the Earth's climate system. This record research budget continues strong support for the "Carbon Cycle Initiative" begun last year to improve our understanding of the role of farms, forests, and other natural or managed lands in capturing carbon.

# Energy Efficiency Standards for Appliances. Issued new energy efficiency standards for refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, freezers and room air conditioners that will save consumers money and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and dependence on foreign oil. The new standards will cut the average appliance's energy usage by 30 percent and save more than seven quadrillion BTUs of energy over the next 30 years, more than seven times the annual energy consumption of the entire state of Arkansas.

# Promoting federal Energy Efficiency. Issued an Executive Order directing federal agencies to reduce energy use in buildings 35 percent by 2010, reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking 1.7 million cars off the road and saving taxpayers over $750 million a year. Forged new partnerships with industry to develop and promote energy-saving cars, homes and consumer products with the potential to save Americans hundreds of millions of dollars in energy bills and significantly curb greenhouse gas pollution.

http://www.environmentalcaucus.org/gore. html

by Perry Logan 2007-09-04 04:35AM | 0 recs

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Re: Hillary's Record: Protecting Our Environment

We are starting to see a move towards Hillary on the blogs, especially on myDD; which is a good sign; away from the hopemongering of Obama and hypocrisy from Mr. Nice Edwards

by American1989 2007-08-20 10:04AM | 0 recs

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more subsidies for coal

As Clinton calls for, is a very bad idea.

by desmoinesdem 2007-08-21 07:42AM | 0 recs

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Dismal Environmental and Labor Record

It is one world and it is becoming sicker every day. Chinese and Indian pollution ends up in LA, Las Vegas, Alaska, and these Chinese particulates are facilitating the melting of the Arctic glaciers (and ballooning global CO2 emmissions too!). China is now #1 in this regard. Problem is: the Clintons conferring of Most Favored Nation trading status coupled with being a WalMart board member have by far erased any environmental gains the Clintons made during the 90s. You see, the biggest environmental problems are global in nature and the Clintons have faciltated the degradation of the international climate. Must be very hard to sleep at night unless they really do not care and are the Wolfs in Sheeps clothing, no? If you do not understand what is going on in China and India with respect where the financing of their factory output is coming from and where the product is going to: hint the USA and global business conglomerates, then you dio not understand what is wrong with Clintons environmental or labor records. If not, then I suggest that you look not only at where the stuff you are buying is coming from, but look at what has happened to the manufacturing industries of the Northeast and nowadays the Midwest. But furthermore, i would urge you to take a look at what they call the Asian brown cloud.

by msnstd 2007-08-20 11:30AM | 0 recs

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Re: Hillary's Record: Protecting Our Environment

As a Hillary supporter, I've been disappointed by both her and Obama's record on coal.

by markjay 2007-08-20 11:31AM | 0 recs

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Re: Hillary's Record: Protecting Our Environment

Whoops, I wish you could edit comments. I meant this is a reply to a comment above, not as independent comment. (i.e., it's my response to the specific point made about coal, not my overall evaluation of Hillary's environmental record, which in general I find to be excellent).

by markjay 2007-08-20 11:34AM | 0 recs

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Re: Hillary's Record: Protecting Our Environment

Great diary. I am surprised in all that Hillary has done on this front.

Recommended.

by lonnette33 2007-08-20 12:03PM | 0 recs

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Re: Hillary's Record: Protecting Our Environment

Hillary supporters recommend this diary.

by lonnette33 2007-08-20 12:03PM | 0 recs