WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders, on the eve of 'Step It Up' events <http://stepitup2007.org> scheduled on April 14 to address the growing threat of climate change, spoke out in favor of a massive conversion of the US economic system to curb the threat of global warming in the coming decades.

Carl Romanelli, Pennsylvania Green Party, 2006 US Senate candidate:

"We can only curb global warming by drastically reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that we're emitting. We need to stop burning oil and coal. The Green Party has called for the U.S. to sign on to the Kyoto accords and to take the lead on a 70% reduction of CO2 emissions, with public and private initiatives at every level to support the Global Climate Treaty signed at the Earth Summit in 1992, committing industrial nations within a time framework to reducing emissions to 1990 levels. This will require a massive investment of resources, similar to the effort we put into World War II. But this is exactly what we need to do to protect the earth and the future of numerous species -- including humans."

Starlene Rankin, Lavender Green Caucus delegate to the Green Party of the United States: 

"We need to develop clean and safe alternative forms of energy, such as wind and solar power, but alternative energy sources cannot sustain our way of life as global warming progresses and fossil fuel use is dramatically limited. We must learn to conserve energy. We can start with a massive investment in trains, electric trains, and various forms of electrified mass transit, to replace car traffic and curb sprawl. We need to consume locally grown food, instead of relying on food driven hundreds or thousands of miles across the US in trucks and grown with petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides. We need to enact carbon taxes, and to do so without placing the major burden on working people. We can use conservation projects, as well as alternative energy development, to generate new jobs all across the US."

Mark Dunlea, Green Party of New York State: 

"Phasing out our addiction to fossil fuels is a matter of national and global security. In the short term, our reliance on oil and the power of oil companies have entangled us in Middle East conflicts. The proposed Iraqi 'hydrocarbon law' will give US and UK energy firms control over Iraq's oil resources, which will inflame regional tensions and require indefinite military occupation of Iraq to protect corporate investments. In future decades, we will see growing resentment from developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America over the high consumption of energy resources by western nations and attempts to maintain our high standards of living. Global warming, if not interrupted, won't just lead to climatic devastation, it will also result in global wars over water, food, and other resources. If we want to offset such conflicts, the US must lead the world in conserving energy and reducing consumption, and must do so now. We can begin with a recommitment to the Kyoto Accord and an expansion of the Kyoto protocols."

• "US lags on plans for climate change"
  By Beth Daley, The Boston Globe Staff, April 5, 2007
  boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/05/us_lags_on_plans_for_climate_change/

• "Poor Nations to Bear Brunt as World Warms"
  By Andrew C. Revkin, The New York Times, April 1, 2007
  nytimes.com/2007/04/01/science/earth/01climate.html

Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New York:

(Note: under Green leadership, New Paltz uses solar and purchases wind energy and is expanding 'green' transportation)

"The greatest obstacles we face in the climate change crisis are official misinformation and censorship of scientific data. Democratic and Republican politicians under the influence of corporate lobbies are promoting nuclear power and caps on industrial carbon dioxide emissions with a credit-trading system, but the dangers of nuclear power are insurmountable, and market-based solutions are proving severely inadequate. The Bush Administration has censored and tampered with scientific reports on global warming, and has placed gag orders on government scientists, prohibiting them from discussing climate change publicly. President Bush's reckless and irresponsible policies on global warming are a threat to public health and the environment, and should be counted as impeachable 'high crimes and misdemeanors.'"

• "Global Warming: Bush is doing to World what he did to New Orleans; Greens call Bush's tampering with scientific research on global warming an impeachable offense"
  Green Party press release, February 5, 2007
  http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2007_02_05.shtml

• "Smoke alarm: EU shows carbon trading is not cutting emissions"
  By David Gow, The Guardian, April 3, 2007
  http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,2048918,00.html 

• "Memos Tell Officials How to Discuss Climate"
  By Andrew C. Revkin, The New York Times, March 8, 2007
  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/washington/08polar.html 

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org 
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml 

"Meltdown: Running out of time on global warming"
By Bill McKibben, The Christian Century, February 20, 2007
http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=2978 

###