27.April: online-action gegen FTAA
The FTAA/Quebec Summit Follow-up
The follow-up action that the electrohippies had planned was in relation to global climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. The reason for the delay in developing this action was so that we could study the published outcomes of the conference to see what had been done to address the issue during the conference. Sadly, this issue appears to have been given no priority at this conference, and consequently we are now going ahead with the final action.
Climate change is a global issue. Whilst the discussions at the Quebec Summit will have direct impacts on the Americas, the continued emission of carbon dioxide, primarily by the USA, has global impacts. The push towards free trade, and the types of transport and waste intensive systems that it fosters, are direct contributors to global climate change. The fact that the limitation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions was not built into the Quebec Agreement, a priori means that it will receive no priority in the overall package of measures that will be negotiated over the next four years.
The person who can be most identified with the issue of not complying with the Kyoto Agreement on greenhouse gas emissions, of those present at the Quebec Summit, is George W. Bush. Therefore we will be enabling a protest action against the Whitehouse web and email system. This action will begin on Wednesday the 25th April, and continuing until Friday the 27th April.
If you would like to take part in this action there are two options
A virtual sit in at the Whitehouse — this is targeted only at the Whitehouse’s web server,
http://www.whitehouse.gov.
An email lobby of the President and Vice President
The Justification for the Action
The refusal by George W. Bush to implement the Kyoto protocol for purely domestic reasons is, in effect, a decision to favour the perceived wellbeing of the US population over that of the whole world’s population.
His reasons for doing this — that the agreement binds only the developed countries and not developing countries (see the Whitehouse press release of 28th March)— also offends the concept of environmental justice. The reason the US and other western countries are so rich is that they have burned fossil fuels for 200 years to make that wealth, and as a result have reaped the financial gains. It is therefore only equitable that the developed countries make the greatest cuts in emissions.
Some of the approaches made to the electrohippies over the past weeks show that people consider Bush’s decision not to implement Kyoto as an act of war. We don’t. But we do believe that the global community should make protests in the strongest possible terms. Therefore we will not be imposing any limits to this action apart from the time period of three days. We leave it up to people’s own conscience to make the kind of protest they believe is justified.
The position of George W. Bush was outlined in a letter to Senators on March 13th (the text is included at the bottom of the page just in case the Whitehouse server is blocked). This made it quite clear that Bush prioritised America’s self interest rather than that of the global community. In terms of his solution to climate change, he also expressed a ‘wise use’ response, suggesting that the solution to climate change would be a business opportunity rather than a fundamental reform of the way economic systems cause pollution.
At the end of March Chancellor Schroeder of Germany visited the President and talked with him about his position on Kyoto. His response to this was noted in a Whitehouse press release on March 29th:
"And I will consult with our friends. We will work together. But it's going
to be in what's in the interest of our country, first and foremost…"
In this instance the electrohippie collective consider that it is justified to take an action against the Whitehouse (being the office of George W. Bush, rather than any other government department). We hope that others will be equally concerned and will join in the action.
Whitehouse press release March 13th 2001, ‘Text Of A Letter From The President To Senators Hagel, Helms, Craig, And Roberts’
[ http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/03/20010314.html]
Thank you for your letter of March 6, 2001, asking for the Administration's views on global climate change, in particular the Kyoto Protocol and efforts to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. My Administration takes the issue of global climate change very seriously.
As you know, I oppose the Kyoto Protocol because it exempts 80 percent of the world, including major population centers such as China and India, from compliance, and would cause serious harm to the U.S. economy. The Senate's vote, 95-0, shows that there is a clear consensus that the Kyoto Protocol is an unfair and ineffective means of addressing global climate change concerns.
As you also know, I support a comprehensive and balanced national energy policy that takes into account the importance of improving air quality. Consistent with this balanced approach, I intend to work with the Congress on a multipollutant strategy to require power plants to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. Any such strategy would include phasing in reductions over a reasonable period of time, providing regulatory certainty, and offering market-based incentives to help industry meet the targets. I do not believe, however, that the government should impose on power plants mandatory emissions reductions for carbon dioxide, which is not a "pollutant" under the Clean Air Act.
A recently released Department of Energy Report, "Analysis of Strategies for Reducing Multiple Emissions from Power Plants," concluded that including caps on carbon dioxide emissions as part of a multiple emissions strategy would lead to an even more dramatic shift from coal to natural gas for electric power generation and significantly higher electricity prices compared to scenarios in which only sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides were reduced.
This is important new information that warrants a re-evaluation, especially at a time of rising energy prices and a serious energy shortage. Coal generates more than half of America's electricity supply. At a time when California has already experienced energy shortages, and other Western states are worried about price and availability of energy this summer, we must be very careful not to take actions that could harm consumers. This is especially true given the incomplete state of scientific knowledge of the causes of, and solutions to, global climate change and the lack of commercially available technologies for removing and storing carbon dioxide.
Consistent with these concerns, we will continue to fully examine global climate change issues — including the science, technologies, market-based systems, and innovative options for addressing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. I am very optimistic that, with the proper focus and working with our friends and allies, we will be able to develop technologies, market incentives, and other creative ways to address global climate change.
I look forward to working with you and others to address global climate change issues in the context of a national energy policy that protects our environment, consumers, and economy.
Sincerely,
GEORGE W. BUSH
The follow-up action that the electrohippies had planned was in relation to global climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. The reason for the delay in developing this action was so that we could study the published outcomes of the conference to see what had been done to address the issue during the conference. Sadly, this issue appears to have been given no priority at this conference, and consequently we are now going ahead with the final action.
Climate change is a global issue. Whilst the discussions at the Quebec Summit will have direct impacts on the Americas, the continued emission of carbon dioxide, primarily by the USA, has global impacts. The push towards free trade, and the types of transport and waste intensive systems that it fosters, are direct contributors to global climate change. The fact that the limitation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions was not built into the Quebec Agreement, a priori means that it will receive no priority in the overall package of measures that will be negotiated over the next four years.
The person who can be most identified with the issue of not complying with the Kyoto Agreement on greenhouse gas emissions, of those present at the Quebec Summit, is George W. Bush. Therefore we will be enabling a protest action against the Whitehouse web and email system. This action will begin on Wednesday the 25th April, and continuing until Friday the 27th April.
If you would like to take part in this action there are two options
A virtual sit in at the Whitehouse — this is targeted only at the Whitehouse’s web server,
http://www.whitehouse.gov. An email lobby of the President and Vice President
The Justification for the Action
The refusal by George W. Bush to implement the Kyoto protocol for purely domestic reasons is, in effect, a decision to favour the perceived wellbeing of the US population over that of the whole world’s population.
His reasons for doing this — that the agreement binds only the developed countries and not developing countries (see the Whitehouse press release of 28th March)— also offends the concept of environmental justice. The reason the US and other western countries are so rich is that they have burned fossil fuels for 200 years to make that wealth, and as a result have reaped the financial gains. It is therefore only equitable that the developed countries make the greatest cuts in emissions.
Some of the approaches made to the electrohippies over the past weeks show that people consider Bush’s decision not to implement Kyoto as an act of war. We don’t. But we do believe that the global community should make protests in the strongest possible terms. Therefore we will not be imposing any limits to this action apart from the time period of three days. We leave it up to people’s own conscience to make the kind of protest they believe is justified.
The position of George W. Bush was outlined in a letter to Senators on March 13th (the text is included at the bottom of the page just in case the Whitehouse server is blocked). This made it quite clear that Bush prioritised America’s self interest rather than that of the global community. In terms of his solution to climate change, he also expressed a ‘wise use’ response, suggesting that the solution to climate change would be a business opportunity rather than a fundamental reform of the way economic systems cause pollution.
At the end of March Chancellor Schroeder of Germany visited the President and talked with him about his position on Kyoto. His response to this was noted in a Whitehouse press release on March 29th:
"And I will consult with our friends. We will work together. But it's going
to be in what's in the interest of our country, first and foremost…"
In this instance the electrohippie collective consider that it is justified to take an action against the Whitehouse (being the office of George W. Bush, rather than any other government department). We hope that others will be equally concerned and will join in the action.
Whitehouse press release March 13th 2001, ‘Text Of A Letter From The President To Senators Hagel, Helms, Craig, And Roberts’
[
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/03/20010314.html] Thank you for your letter of March 6, 2001, asking for the Administration's views on global climate change, in particular the Kyoto Protocol and efforts to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. My Administration takes the issue of global climate change very seriously.
As you know, I oppose the Kyoto Protocol because it exempts 80 percent of the world, including major population centers such as China and India, from compliance, and would cause serious harm to the U.S. economy. The Senate's vote, 95-0, shows that there is a clear consensus that the Kyoto Protocol is an unfair and ineffective means of addressing global climate change concerns.
As you also know, I support a comprehensive and balanced national energy policy that takes into account the importance of improving air quality. Consistent with this balanced approach, I intend to work with the Congress on a multipollutant strategy to require power plants to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. Any such strategy would include phasing in reductions over a reasonable period of time, providing regulatory certainty, and offering market-based incentives to help industry meet the targets. I do not believe, however, that the government should impose on power plants mandatory emissions reductions for carbon dioxide, which is not a "pollutant" under the Clean Air Act.
A recently released Department of Energy Report, "Analysis of Strategies for Reducing Multiple Emissions from Power Plants," concluded that including caps on carbon dioxide emissions as part of a multiple emissions strategy would lead to an even more dramatic shift from coal to natural gas for electric power generation and significantly higher electricity prices compared to scenarios in which only sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides were reduced.
This is important new information that warrants a re-evaluation, especially at a time of rising energy prices and a serious energy shortage. Coal generates more than half of America's electricity supply. At a time when California has already experienced energy shortages, and other Western states are worried about price and availability of energy this summer, we must be very careful not to take actions that could harm consumers. This is especially true given the incomplete state of scientific knowledge of the causes of, and solutions to, global climate change and the lack of commercially available technologies for removing and storing carbon dioxide.
Consistent with these concerns, we will continue to fully examine global climate change issues — including the science, technologies, market-based systems, and innovative options for addressing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. I am very optimistic that, with the proper focus and working with our friends and allies, we will be able to develop technologies, market incentives, and other creative ways to address global climate change.
I look forward to working with you and others to address global climate change issues in the context of a national energy policy that protects our environment, consumers, and economy.
Sincerely,
GEORGE W. BUSH
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