Romney Breaks with GOP Over Global Warming, Fails to Mention Diesel Solution (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | "I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that. It's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may be significant contributors," said Republican Presidential candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney on Friday, according to Reuters. Sounding more like Al Gore than the poster boy for Republican rhetoric which usually sounds something like "Drill, baby. Drill." Romney called for the nation to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, but added, "I love solar and wind (power) but they don't drive cars. And we're not all going to drive Chevy Volts."

On this matter, the Republican candidate and I agree, but the issue of global warming is sort of a nonstarter with me, in that it doesn't really matter what the science says. The truth that cannot be overlooked is that earth is, regardless of whether or not we contribute to its demise with pollution or simply the stripping of manufacturing materials, a finite resource.

Regardless of whether or not we are harming the earth by our lifestyle, the overall point is that we must, where possible, take steps to be the best stewards we can be of the resources we are given. There are valid arguments to be made on both sides of the environmental lobby. There are, for example, because of the environmental lobby, more trees today than there were 25 years ago, despite our continued use of paper. According to Penn and Teller we now grow trees on farms, specifically for the purpose of paper production. In truth, it takes more energy to recycle paper than to simply make new paper.

When it comes to oil and gas, the big dark secret is that we've had the solution for more than 100 years, but utilizing that solution would harm two of the biggest lobbies in the United States Government, the car industry lobby and the oil lobby. The answer is diesel. Modern diesel vehicles don't feature the clatter of the diesels of the 1970s, can run on diesel fuel created from biological material, and their engines last twice as long and they now perform without problems in cold weather. They also don't deplete ozone, as the exhaust doesn't include carbon monoxide.

So good for you, governor Romney, for breaking with your party and being willing to consider looking at the earth as a resource with which we should be careful. Won't you now, also consider the possibility of telling us the truth and pushing for a solution that makes sense, no matter what lobbyists may say?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110803/sc_ac/8589147_romney_breaks_with_gop_over_global_warming_fails_to_mention_diesel_solution

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