We now are burning billions of tons of fossil fuels every year. This has caused CO2 to build up in the atmosphere much as an excessively rich diet causes life-threatening deposits to build up in human arteries. This build-up of CO2 threatens our health and environment, just as excessive cholesterol threatens our bodies. Electric power plants emit 40 percent of U.S. carbon pollution, and unless they change their current practices their emissions will increase dramatically. Reasonable steps to make our homes and businesses more energy efficient will further cut carbon dioxide and other pollutants from electricity generators.
Motor vehicles are the second biggest source of carbon pollution.
We have the know-how to build cars and sport utility vehicles that pollute less and do less damage to our wallets. We do not need technical breakthroughs, because the technology is available today. What we need is political leadership. In his letter to Senator Hagel, President Bush cited a Department of Energy report that concluded it would be too costly to regulate carbon dioxide. That report is seriously flawed and contradicts a number of authoritative reports that reached the opposite conclusion.