News

In speech at U, Klobuchar calls for immediate action to improve environment

By Kevin Behr, Star Tribune

April 2, 2007

 

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar called on Congress Monday to take immediate action to combat global warming, recommending federal limits on greenhouse gases and a national reporting system to hold polluters accountable for their emissions.

Among the Minnesota Democrat's proposals was one to convert prairie grasses into "carbon-neutral" ethanol, a biofuel that some University of Minnesota researchers say is cleaner and more efficient than corn or soybean ethanol.

 

In a noon address before about 200 people at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Klobuchar, who sits on Senate committees dealing with the environment and agriculture, stressed that there is no single cause of global warming and that many solutions exist.

 

"We don't need a silver bullet," she said. "We need silver buckshot."

 

Klobuchar said that the American people have caught onto the issue of global warming and that Congress needs to play catch-up.

 

"This isn't just about 8-year-olds crying about penguins anymore," she said. "This is about people from all walks of life, rising up and saying we need to do something about this."

 

Her recommendations included a "caps-and-trades" program, under which companies would be required either to stay within federal emission standards or buy credits from companies that do.

"It creates a financial incentive for emission reduction by assigning an actual cost to pollution," Klobuchar said.

 

She also called for more renewable wind and solar energy, more fuel-efficient vehicles and more energy solutions from the agriculture sector.

 

Afterward, Klobuchar answered questions on such environmental concerns as oil and nuclear power.

"She's got a good grasp of the issue," said former Vice President Walter Mondale, who attended the speech.

 

Another DFLer in the audience was satirist Al Franken, who is running for U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's seat in 2008. Franken said that Klobuchar's address was "terrific" and that he would love to see Congress do as much as possible to stop global warming.

 

"We should've been doing this for a long time," he said.

 

Klobuchar said she hopes to introduce a bill in the next six months that includes her recommendations.

Her speech was the first in a series of lectures called "Connecting with Government: Public Forums with Minnesota's Elected Officials." Future speakers include Coleman and U.S. Reps. Betty McCollum, Tim Walz and Jim Ramstad.

 

Kevin Behr is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Star Tribune.

Kevin Behr • kbehr@startribune.com