Candidate Positions

Original source: http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/decision_2008/BO48879/

Global warming: Not convinced human activity has contributed to global warming or that warming is anything more than cyclical. “Certainly, we should pay attention to these changes and study them — but we should refrain from imposing a litany of state, federal and international restrictions.”

Original source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/05/07/romney_hedges_on_global_warming/

During a news conference at which he formally announced the Massachusetts Climate Protection Plan, Romney said he decided not to take sides in the debate about “is there global warming or is there not, and what’s causing it.”
…..
…suggesting he remains unconvinced on the issue at the heart of the proposal.

Original source: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ODIyYzRiMWZiZjg4NWRmNGRjYzg1YmZlNjFlYWU0OTg=

Even on issues like global warming, where many Republicans — including staunch government-cutters like Newt Gingrich — have begun to warm to ideas like a carbon tax or an emission-trading system, Paul stands firm. “Nobody has a right to pollute, but I would rather approach the issue through property rights than through regulation,” he says. “Government should be there to protect property, not to divvy it up.”

Original source: http://kucinich.us/issues/energy.php

Thanks to advances in renewables, there are fewer technical obstacles to energy independence for our country. There are many political obstacles — but the oil, auto and electric utility corporations should not be directing energy policy. We must work to spur research and investment in “alternative” energy sources such as hydrogen, solar, wind and ocean, and make them mainstream. Clean energy technologies will produce new jobs. We can and must double our energy from renewable sources by 2010. And we can very soon have hybrid and fuel cell cars dominating the market.

As a peace advocate, I hope to launch a major renewables effort so that Middle East oil fields will not loom so large as strategic or military targets. There has to be a renewable energy portfolio of at least 20% by 2010. And that means introducing wind, solar, hydrogen, geothermal, biomass, and all of the options that must be available and need incentivizing. That also means withdrawing incentives for the production of nonrenewable energy. I’m not talking about building new hydro dams; I’m not talking about damming up more rivers and streams. We need to subsidize the development of new energy technologies. And I’m willing to do that through NASA, which has been of singular importance to our economy by developing technologies for propulsion, for aerospace, for materials, for medicines, and for communication. We need to fund NASA in, among other areas, a mission to planet Earth.

Original source: http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2007/05/21/gilmore-global-warming/

When the League of Conservation Voters tried to find a statement by James Gilmore about the threat of global warming for its Heat is On web site, they had to go way back to 2001, when Gilmore denied human responsibility for global warming, saying, “There is not a solid link between greenhouse gases in that warming or at least human conduct and industrial conduct in that warming.”

Original source: http://www.chrisdodd.com/node/1286

…That may be the case with Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), whose plan to tackle climate change involves a bold move for any politician: a new tax — in this case, on carbon emissions. “You cannot be serious about acting on the urgent threat of global warming, about making us less captive to Middle East oil, or investing in renewable energy, unless you have a corporate carbon tax that eliminates the last incentive there is to pollute — that it’s cheaper,” Mr. Dodd said in a speech last month. He would spend the $50 billion in annual revenue on research into renewable technologies. And he would couple the tax with legislation to mandate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and raise automobile fuel economy standards to 50 miles per gallon by 2017…..

Original source: http://forestfire.wordpress.com/2007/05/01/bill-richardsons-global-warming-hypocrisy-wheres-petes-defense/

“In the absence of federal leadership, I feel a real sense of urgency to take action at the state level to fight global warming and strengthen our energy security.”