BAUCUS GOES 'CARBON NEUTRAL' IN AIR TRAVEL
Senator Attacks Climate Change Personally
September 25, 2007
(Washington, D.C) – Montana Senator Max Baucus is putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to climate change.
The senior U.S. Senator today offset his carbon emissions for air travel between Montana and Washington, D.C., paying $1,152 dollars for a year’s worth of travel to begin to help establish a “carbon-neutral footprint.”
Baucus today became the first U.S. Senator to use services provided by Native Energy, a privately held Native American energy company, to offset his official Senate travel.
NativeEnergy is a trusted leader in providing high-quality carbon offsets. Assisting consumers and businesses in offsetting carbon emitting activities, NativeEnergy invests in the development of new renewable energy projects. The net effect: less greenhouse gas entering the atmosphere.
Baucus went online today from his Washington office and bought the credits. Through NativeEnergy, a roundtrip flight from Washington, D.C., to Billings, Mont. costs $24 to offset. (http://www.nativeenergy.com/)
Baucus said the offset program is a small thing leaders can do to help address climate change as Congress debates legislation to help curb greenhouse gases. He also encouraged Montanans to get involved in the offsetting program to help fight global warming. Baucus’ money will be invested in new wind energy projects.
NativeEnergy President & CEO Tom Boucher said, “We need to see political leadership on this critically important issue, and that is what Senator Baucus is providing by his personal action today – demonstrating that we can all support real and effective solutions to the climate crisis.”
Baucus is chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee. He also serves as a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over climate change legislation. He’s been a member of the EPW Committee since he first joined the Senate in 1979.
“I thought it would be a good idea to put into practice personally what we’ve been pushing legislatively,” Baucus said. “Through carbon offsets, we can chip away at the problem while long-term solutions are worked out in Washington. This is a small thing Montanans and Americans can do that will have a big impact on the climate change problem.”
Baucus was the first member of Montana’s Congressional Delegation to publicly advocate for an economy wide cap-and-trade system that would cap the total amount of carbon released into the atmosphere but allow carbon-emitting industries to purchase credits on the open market.
The senior U.S. Senator is also aggressively pursuing tax incentives to boost alternative energy production, including wind, solar, biomass, and ethanol.
As an author the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, Baucus helped establish the first ever cap-and-trade program for sulfur dioxide.
Baucus pointed to the extended drought in Montana, and warned of worse conditions in the years to come if America doesn’t aggressively tackle global warming. He said explosive wildfires, drought, and erratic weather patterns hurt the state’s economy.
“Unrelenting drought, river closures, shorter ski seasons, and explosive wildfires hurt Montana’s economy,” Baucus said. “It’s that simple. We need to go after climate change with everything we’ve got. We have to curb our greenhouse gas emissions.”
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