Senator Chris Dodd Meets SmartPower

Posted on April 29, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized |

Democratic Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd was in New Hampshire the other day to talk about energy independence, and he sat down with SmartPower’s Mike Garofalo and a handful of others to talk policy. (That’s Mike just leaning out of the frame on the right in this photo from the New York Times.) Mike asked Dodd if he would support SmartPower’s 20% by 2010 program for the US government, an idea that Dodd likes: he says he wants all US government offices to use clean energy for all their needs.

Mike also reports that Dodd is out in front on a number of other key energy issues:

Up the fleet averages in fuel economy to 50 mpg for all new cars within 10 years
Reduce greenhouse gas emmissions by 80% by 2050
Institute a carbon tax to curb the production of greenhouse gases

Although politicians like to say they are absolutely teeming with “bold ideas,” we all know the reality is that the political climate doesn’t exactly reward those who get too far ahead of the curve. Which is one way you can see that using clean energy has really become “mainstream.” Not only have the problems associated with climate change become a regular topic for candidates, but solutions (like buying renewable power) also end on the table much more regularly.

Mike’s sit-down with Dodd and a handful of other politicos also ended up on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, as you can see from this clip (Mike is the second guy on Dodd’s left, nodding approvingly.)

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