Media release - September 29, 2004
On the eve of the first presidential debate, more than 100
University of Miami students and Florida residents teamed up with Greenpeace to ask for a commitment from President Bush and Senator Kerry to promote clean, renewable energy. Just blocks from tomorrow's debate site, people wrote messages in support of clean energy on hundreds of model windmills before delivering them to the candidates' Miami campaign headquarters.
"America's addiction to dirty fossil fuels is locking us into a
global warming future. Dirty energy causes premature deaths from
power plant pollution and it causes wars in search of oil," said
Jessica Coven, Greenpeace Clean Energy Now! campaigner. "There is
no debate that America needs independence from fossil fuels. There
is no debate that we need the freedom that clean domestic
energy
sources such as wind and solar will provide."
Greenpeace is asking both George W. Bush and John Kerry to
commit to getting 20 percent of America's energy needs from
renewable sources by 2020. Such a plan would create more than
900,000 jobs while reducing the health threats posed by power
plants. A 2004 study conducted by Abt Associates showed that
23,600 people die prematurely nationwide because of power plant
pollution. Most of these deaths could be prevented if power plants
are cleaned up or replaced by clean, renewable energy sources.
Furthermore, scientists overwhelmingly agree that global warming
is happening right now and is caused by burning fossil fuels such
as oil and coal. This warming is leading to an increase in extreme
weather events -- droughts, heat waves and more intense hurricanes
that are happening across the globe. In order to curb the
dangerous impacts of global warming, the United States must emit
less global warming pollution into the atmosphere by moving away
from fossil fuels and switching to clean energy sources.
The Greenpeace Clean Energy Now!
Campaign is part of a global campaign that is committed to ending
our addiction to fossil fuels by promoting and requiring the
increased use of clean energy and energy efficiency as solutions
for the world's growing power needs. The campaign has been
successful by working with local and state governments, students
and other groups to stop dirty energy projects and to increase
investment in clean energy.