Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on August 21st, 2008
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)
Party Is as Party Does- Democratic party platform outlines green goals.
The Democratic Party released its national platform last week ahead of its upcoming convention in Denver. While the health-care section is Hillary-esque, most sections, including those environment- and energy-related, echo the calls that Barack Obama has made throughout his campaign.
The section “New American Energy” declares that Dems will create up to 5 million jobs in the green-energy sector, “clean up our coal plants,” make the U.S. 50 percent more energy-efficient by 2030, institute a cap-and-trade program, increase auto fuel efficiency, source 25 percent of electricity from renewables by 2025, invest in cellulosic ethanol, install a smarter electricity grid, and reduce oil consumption 35 percent by 2030.
In a swipe at Republicans, it notes that “we can’t drill our way to energy independence” and that “the problem of four dollar a gallon gas” will be solved “with a comprehensive plan and investment in clean energy.”
The Democratic platform also says that “man-made” climate change is “not just an economic issue or an environmental concern” but “a national security crisis,” requiring a “global response” including “binding and enforceable commitments to reducing emissions, especially for those that pollute the most.”

















