Difference between revisions of "Draft GPUS Platform Amendment Energy"

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'''Section Subtitle: Energy for a safe climate and a cleaner world'''
 
'''Section Subtitle: Energy for a safe climate and a cleaner world'''
  
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'''Our position: Greens will rapidly reduce our nation's energy consumption and shift to the use of clean, renewable, local energy sources.'''
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'''Our position: Greens support a rapid shift to an energy system based on wind, solar and geo-thermal power.'''
 
   
 
   
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With five percent of the world's population, the U. S. consumes twenty-six percent of the world's energy. This is not a sustainable level.
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Cheap fossil fuels have led our nation to build an energy infrastructure that is designed for, and utterly dependent on, the illusion of plentiful oil, coal, and natural gas. We have built cars and trucks and an extensive network of highways. We have built passenger aircraft that are swift and safe, and airports in practically all our cities. Our shopping malls have become filled with products imported from around the world.
  
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Our nation has an energy intensive economy heavily based on fossil fuels, which are extremely harmful to the environment, and finite. Our entire infrastructure is designed for, and utterly dependent on, plentiful oil, coal, and natural gas.
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We have configured our food system to take advantage of fossil fuels by mechanizing production, by using petrochemicals to fertilize crops and kill weeds and pests – and then by transporting food ever further distances to giant supermarkets accessed by private automobile.
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Dirty and dangerous energy sources have generated an unparalleled assault on the environment and human rights in many nations. In the U.S., low income communities and communities of color bear the greatest burden of health impacts due to exposure to emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants. Native American communities have been devastated by uranium mining, and the poor of Appalachia witness helplessly as their ancient mountains are destroyed for a few years’ worth of coal-fired electricity. Regional and global peaks in supply are driving up costs of conventional fuels and threatening wars and social chaos.
 
  
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Fossil Fuels are Finite. Oil extraction rates from any oil field or country are known to follow a bell curve. U.S. oil production peaked in 1970 and has been in steady decline ever since. It is a bell-shaped graph. For the entire history of petroleum extraction, the world has cumulatively experienced the growing side of the bell, which has translated into an expanding global economy. Many petroleum industry experts predict the global peaking of the curve within the coming decade, with permanently declining extraction rates to follow. The International Energy Agency warns that “the era of cheap oil is over, the time to act is now.” Coal and natural gas also follow bell curves in terms of extraction rates. Although coal is more abundant than oil, it is inherently dirtier than oil, is limited in terms of its use as a vehicle fuel, and demand is skyrocketing globally for use in electricity generation. Natural Gas, a fossil fuel, is also in high demand for power production and is ultimately finite. All of these energy sources are associated with extraction, transportation, processing and refining practices that are extremely hazardous to human health, the environment, and communities throughout the globe.
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We heat most of our homes with fossil fuels, and we have designed our homes around automobiles, setting aside a large portion of interior space for garages. We have built countless neighborhoods through which and to which no one is expected to travel by any mode other than by car. We define the functionality of our cities by the highways that connect their neighborhoods and suburbs. We have built an electric grid system to supply power that depends on fossil fuels for two-thirds of its energy.
  
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The global community has consumed about half what nature generated over hundreds of millions of years. As far as petroleum goes, we have picked the low-hanging fruit. We must plan and prepare for the end of fossil fuels now, while we still have energy available to build the cleaner, more sustainable energy infrastructure that we will soon need, based on true primary sources of energy such as the sun.  
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In short, we have become systemically dependent on cheap fossil fuels.
  
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Burning fossil fuel releases enormous quantities ancient carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that are changing the global climate, and thus reducing the survival prospects of future generations. If humanity and other species are to avoid catastrophic climate change, we must begin reducing fossil carbon dioxide emissions immediately, and bring them virtually to zero before mid-century. 
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However, burning fossil fuel releases enormous quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that are changing the global climate. If we are to avoid catastrophic climate change, we must begin reducing fossil carbon dioxide emissions immediately, and bring them virtually to zero before mid-century.
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Simple substitution won’t work.  To simply substitute better energy sources in place of fossil fuels is not the answer for two main reasons. First, there are no energy sources (renewable or otherwise) capable of supplying energy as cheaply and in such abundance as fossil fuels currently yield in the time that we need them to come online. Second, we have designed and built the infrastructure of our transport, electricity, and food systems – as well as our national building stock – to suit the unique characteristics of oil, natural gas, and coal. Changing to different energy sources will require the redesign of many aspects of those systems.
 
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The energy transition cannot be accomplished with a minor retrofit of existing energy infrastructure. Just as our fossil fuel economy differs from the agrarian economy of 1800, the post-fossil fuel economy of 2050 will be profoundly different from all that we are familiar with now. The differences will be in urban design and land use patterns, food systems, manufacturing and distribution networks, the job market, transportation systems, health care, tourism, and more.  
 
  
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It can be argued that these changes will occur if we wait for the market price of fossil fuels to reflect scarcity with higher costs forcing society to adapt. However, at least a decade of lead time is required for any kind of orderly transition to a new energy paradigm. Lack of government planning will result in a transition that is chaotic, painful, destructive, and possibly unsurvivable. We need to reduce our energy consumption and restructure our economy to run primarily on renewable energy.  
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We must reduce our overall energy consumption, and restructure our economy to run primarily on renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and advanced geothermal.  Renewables can power our society indefinitely.  They are the only long-term answer to our nation’s and the world’s energy problems.
 
    
 
    
 
'''GREEN SOLUTIONS'''
 
'''GREEN SOLUTIONS'''
 
    
 
    
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'''Encourage conservation and reduce energy consumption'''  
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'''Increase conservation, reduce energy consumption by at least 40% from 1990 levels by 2020'''  
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1. Increase national energy efficiency standards for products and services, including the average fuel efficiency of automobiles.
  
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1. Institute national energy efficiency standards with a goal of reducing energy consumption at least 40% by 2020.
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2. Establish and strengthen green building codes and guidelines for new construction.
  
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2. Support building codes for new construction that incorporate the best available energy conservation designs.  Retrofit millions of existing buildings and homes for energy efficiency.
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3. Retrofit existing buildings for increased energy efficiency.
  
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3. Support a carbon tax as a market incentive to increase efficiency.
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4. Enact a carbon tax to increase energy conservation and efficiency and to internalize the true environmental cost of burning carbon-based fules
  
 
'''Swiftly transition to safe and clean energy'''
 
'''Swiftly transition to safe and clean energy'''
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1. Move decisively to solar, wind, geo-thermal, marine and other cleaner renewable energy sources.
 
1. Move decisively to solar, wind, geo-thermal, marine and other cleaner renewable energy sources.
 
   
 
   
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2. Research and increased government support for new energy storage technologies, new cheaper and non-toxic photovoltaic materials and processes, and new geothermal and ocean power technologies.   
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2. Increase funding for research and development of new energy storage technologies, cheaper and non-toxic photovoltaic materials and processes, and geothermal and ocean power technologies.   
  
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3. Support financing policies to help homeowners install expensive renewable energy.  
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3. Retrofit existing buildings to become distributed generation sources of renewable energy.
  
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4. Support research into advanced fuels, such as non-fossil. nuclear-based hydrogen, when the purpose of the research is to develop a fuel that in its full cycle does not create more problems than it solves. 
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'''End the use of dirty and dangerous energy sources'''
  
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'''End the Use of Dirty and Dangerous Energy Sources'''
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1. Phase out all nuclear power plants. Enact a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants. Terminate corporate welfare and other subsidies, bailouts and liability limitations for nuclear power.
  
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1. Phase-out of all nuclear and coal power plants.  
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2. Phase out non-medical technologies that use or produce nuclear waste, such as nuclear waste incinerators, food irradiators, and all commercial and military uses of depleted uranium.  
  
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2. A moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants, the early retirement of existing nuclear power reactors, and the phase-out of technologies that use or produce nuclear waste, such as nuclear waste incinerators, food irradiators, and all commercial and military uses of depleted uranium.  
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3. Phase out all coal power plants. Ban mountaintop removal coal mining.
  
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3. Terminate public subsidies or bailouts for nuclear power.
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4. Oppose the development of fuels produced by polluting, energy-intensive processes or from unsustainable or toxic feedstocks, such as genetically-engineered crops, or coal or waste streams contaminated with persistent toxins.   
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4. Ban mountaintop removal coal mining.
 
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5. Cease the development of fuels produced with polluting, energy-intensive processes or from unsustainable or toxic feedstocks, such as genetically-engineered crops, coal and waste streams contaminated with persistent toxics.   
 
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6. Support community-scale renewable and biofuels fuel production programs that recover otherwise wasted biomass or utilize clean primary energy sources such as wind and solar.
 
  
 
'''Localize'''
 
'''Localize'''
  
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1. Plan for decentralized, bio-regional electricity generation and distribution.
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1. Implement community-scale, distributed generation of renewable energy. Support incentives for small-scale, local, low-input producers.
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2. Oppose deregulation of the electric industry and strongly support public power.
 
  
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3. Set goals and standards and to provide public investment capital for decentralized municipal power systems.  
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2. Support public power. Provide public investment capital for decentralized municipal power systems.  
  
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4. Support incentives for small-scale, local, low-input producers.
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3. Oppose deregulation of the electric industry.

Latest revision as of 15:16, 14 July 2010

Section Title: Energy

Section Subtitle: Energy for a safe climate and a cleaner world

Our position: Greens support a rapid shift to an energy system based on wind, solar and geo-thermal power.

Cheap fossil fuels have led our nation to build an energy infrastructure that is designed for, and utterly dependent on, the illusion of plentiful oil, coal, and natural gas. We have built cars and trucks and an extensive network of highways. We have built passenger aircraft that are swift and safe, and airports in practically all our cities. Our shopping malls have become filled with products imported from around the world.

We have configured our food system to take advantage of fossil fuels by mechanizing production, by using petrochemicals to fertilize crops and kill weeds and pests – and then by transporting food ever further distances to giant supermarkets accessed by private automobile.

We heat most of our homes with fossil fuels, and we have designed our homes around automobiles, setting aside a large portion of interior space for garages. We have built countless neighborhoods through which and to which no one is expected to travel by any mode other than by car. We define the functionality of our cities by the highways that connect their neighborhoods and suburbs. We have built an electric grid system to supply power that depends on fossil fuels for two-thirds of its energy.

In short, we have become systemically dependent on cheap fossil fuels.

However, burning fossil fuel releases enormous quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that are changing the global climate. If we are to avoid catastrophic climate change, we must begin reducing fossil carbon dioxide emissions immediately, and bring them virtually to zero before mid-century.

We must reduce our overall energy consumption, and restructure our economy to run primarily on renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and advanced geothermal. Renewables can power our society indefinitely. They are the only long-term answer to our nation’s and the world’s energy problems.

GREEN SOLUTIONS

Increase conservation, reduce energy consumption by at least 40% from 1990 levels by 2020

1. Increase national energy efficiency standards for products and services, including the average fuel efficiency of automobiles.

2. Establish and strengthen green building codes and guidelines for new construction.

3. Retrofit existing buildings for increased energy efficiency.

4. Enact a carbon tax to increase energy conservation and efficiency and to internalize the true environmental cost of burning carbon-based fules

Swiftly transition to safe and clean energy

1. Move decisively to solar, wind, geo-thermal, marine and other cleaner renewable energy sources.

2. Increase funding for research and development of new energy storage technologies, cheaper and non-toxic photovoltaic materials and processes, and geothermal and ocean power technologies.

3. Retrofit existing buildings to become distributed generation sources of renewable energy.

End the use of dirty and dangerous energy sources

1. Phase out all nuclear power plants. Enact a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants. Terminate corporate welfare and other subsidies, bailouts and liability limitations for nuclear power.

2. Phase out non-medical technologies that use or produce nuclear waste, such as nuclear waste incinerators, food irradiators, and all commercial and military uses of depleted uranium.

3. Phase out all coal power plants. Ban mountaintop removal coal mining.

4. Oppose the development of fuels produced by polluting, energy-intensive processes or from unsustainable or toxic feedstocks, such as genetically-engineered crops, or coal or waste streams contaminated with persistent toxins.

Localize

1. Implement community-scale, distributed generation of renewable energy. Support incentives for small-scale, local, low-input producers.

2. Support public power. Provide public investment capital for decentralized municipal power systems.

3. Oppose deregulation of the electric industry.

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