Environment and Energy
PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE WHILE BUILDING OUR FUTURE
The threat to our environment is the overarching moral challenge of our time. We cannot escape its consequences, because unlike other policy areas, this issue is not partisan and shows no preference for any particular group. It’s literally the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land on which we grow our food. Progress on these issues requires courage and a commitment to the health and well-being of future generations.
On a personal note, as the father of children that suffer from asthma, I am especially concerned about restoring and preserving clean air. As Congressman, I will see that all tools are used to return the environment to its pristine condition for the health of all Americans—regardless of which party holds the White House.
Climate Change
There is a broad consensus among climate scientists that human-generated climate change is occurring and is a significant problem. Research has shown that the greenhouse gas buildup in our atmosphere is adversely affecting our environment. Steps must be taken now to reverse harmful practices and policies before the damage is irreparable. Dan will work to address this issue immediately, so that the problem of global warming is not simply passed on to future generations.
Dan supports The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which sets targets and requires the actions necessary to avoid irreversible warming of the planet. This act establishes a market-based program of reducing global warming from electric utilities, oil companies, large industrial sources and other entities that are collectively responsible for 85% of U.S. global warming emissions. Covered entities must have tradable federal permits, allowances, for each ton of pollution emitted into the atmosphere.
This program reduces the number of available allowances issued each year to ensure that aggregate emissions are reduced by 17% below 2005 levels in 2020 and 83% below 2005 levels in 2050. The Senate version calls for 20% reduction by 2020. We know that clean air is vital to the health and welfare of all Americans, and all human beings alike. We must put teeth back into The Clean Air Act and support efforts to limit Greenhouse Gases and toxins entering the atmosphere, which warms our planet and leads to the deterioration of our health.
Energy Independence
Our success in ending our addiction to foreign oil and fossil fuels will determine whether or not America will continue to grow and prosper throughout the 21st century. There is perhaps no issue that could have as profound an effect on our environment, economy, and national security as our ability to meet this goal.
Dan is committed to legislation promoting energy independence, including the rapid development of new technology, such as wind and solar energy generators with improvements to transmission and storage, as well as net metering to allow individual energy providers to receive credit for sending power into the power grid. Dan believes we must create incentives to promote the purchases of vehicles that meet the highest fuel-efficiency standards, and also supports the Apollo Initiative to develop clean energy alternatives and decrease our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Subsidies and tax breaks given to oil and gas companies should be invested toward the development of clean energy. The more people see that good environmental policies can drive economic growth and save them money, the faster those policies will be adopted.
Investing in Green Technology
Research and development in green technology remains one of the most promising hopes for gaining American energy independence. Investments in green technologies create an exceedingly greater number of jobs than investments in older forms of energy. The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) promotes clean energy by promoting renewable sources of energy and carbon capture and sequestration technologies, low-carbon transportation fuels, clean electric vehicles and the smart grid and electricity transmission. ACES promotes renewable energy by requiring retail electricity suppliers to meet a certain percentage of their load with electricity generated from renewable resources, such as wind, biomass, solar and geothermal. The renewable electricity requirement begins at 6% in 2012 and gradually rises to 25% in 2025.
Dan also supports The Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008, (HR. 5351). This groundbreaking energy legislation provides the kind of market incentives and financial support needed to usher in a new era of clean energy technology and innovation that will enhance our security, protect our environment, and create thousands of green jobs.
There is little doubt America is wedged between the dual crises of economic instability and a global clean energy contest. The Apollo Initiative, spearheaded by Rep. Jay Inslee, is a primary legislative pursuit of Dan’s. This plan is distinguished in its twin efforts to innovate our energy policy, reflecting more competitive global standards while weaning ourselves from Mid-East oil, and the creation of a durable green collar jobs sector.
Protecting and Restoring Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan, forming the eastern border of the 10th Congressional District, is one of the country’s greatest natural resources, and the fifth largest lake in the world. The Great Lakes have suffered environmental degradation over the last decade and are now in need of restoration. Areas of concern include increasing lake evaporation and increasing demand for Great Lakes drinking water from growing metropolitan areas, disappearing wetlands and eroding shorelines, inadequate sewage facilities, invasive species contamination, and increased toxic pollution. Dan supports multi-state and regional agreements to secure funding to achieve the critical goal of a clean, secure Great Lakes that will thrive for our generation and generations to come.
Efforts to restore Lake Michigan have not received adequate funding from Congress. Dan will work to protect and restore Lake Michigan by addressing these issues and fighting for the necessary funds. He also supports:
• Reauthorizing the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act to provide state and local governments with the resources they need to monitor beaches and assess water quality standards
• The Great Lakes Legacy Act, a program that provides funding for projects to clean up contaminated areas of concern in the Great Lakes
• Capping and reducing mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury contamination of drinking water and marine life
• Regulating ship ballast water to control for invasive aquatic species
• Funding and implementing the recommendations of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration
• Managing our waters to prevent the introduction of predator species like the Asian Carp from entering Lake Michigan.
Clean Water State Revolving Fund
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) provides funding for pollution control, estuary management, and improvements to wastewater treatment facilities. Funding for the CWSRF has declined in recent years. Dan supports restoring funding for the CWSRF and consider it a legislative priority. [Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Northeast-Midwest Institute, March 2007]
Restoring Clean Water Act Protections
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. Army Corps of Engineers removed Clean Water Act protections from non-navigable, “isolated” waters such as vernal pools, prairie potholes, and certain wetlands. Dan supports the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would clarify the Clean Water Act and restore these essential protections to all “waters of the United States.”
Commitment to Environmental Stewardship
As a member of Congress, Dan will work to restore the American commitment to responsible environmental stewardship, and will be a leader in environmental protection and sustainable development so that generations to come can enjoy a cleaner and healthier planet.
