Rocky Anderson on Energy & Oil

Justice Party challenger for President; former mayor of Salt Lake City

Strong investment in renewable energy like wind and solar

Q: When you think about America's energy needs, which of the following solutions comes closest to your opinion?

More drilling than investment in renewables (mix of both solutions)
More investment in renewable than drilling (mix of both solutions)
Strong focus on offshore drilling and allowing drilling in federal lands including wildlife reserves

Source: AmericansElect Questionnaire with OnTheIssues.org , Feb 23, 2012

Replace coal & oil with alternatives

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Replace coal & oil with alternatives"?

A: Strongly Support

Source: Email interview on presidential race with OnTheIssues.org , Feb 10, 2012

Those who push coal are the enemy

We know that if we don't stop the burning of coal, our earth will be a very inhospitable place--eventually largely uninhabitable. We cannot prevent irreversible, catastrophic climate change if we don't stop burning coal. Those who push coal, those who accommodate coal, are making war against young people and the next generation. They are destroying species. They are destroying our atmosphere and rendering our world inhospitable to life. Theyÿare the enemy--creating a far greater threat to peace and security than all the terrorists in the world combined. If we won't fight them to a degree that corresponds to the harm they are causing then we are complicit. The moral imperative is clear: We mustÿradically and urgently alter our course. If we're not going to quickly achieve massive reductions in the atmospheric concentration carbon dioxide, then any measures are simply pretense and P.R. Source: Speech at the Rowland Hall Candlelight Vigil , Dec 11, 2009

Goal of 21% GHG reduction by 2012; accomplished 31% in 2006

Q: Your Salt Lake City Green program aimed to reduce the city government's greenhouse-gas emissions 21% below 2001 levels by 2012--the equivalent of Kyoto. How's that going?

A: We have far exceeded that goal, six years early. We're at 148% of our goal --a 31% reduction below 2001 levels. In our city and county buildings alone, replacing our incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs saved $33,000 a year in electricity. Then we used some of those cost savings to become the state's largest purchaser of wind power. We retrofitted all of our traffic lights with LED lights. We're constantly converting our diesel fleet over to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, and utilizing alternative fuels whenever possible. At our landfill, we capture the methane & use it to generate electricity--that accomplishes a reduction of 17,600 tons of equivalent carbon dioxide a year. We do the same thing at our wastewater-treatment plant through the utilization of a cogeneration plant.

Source: David Roberts on Grist.org, "Interview with Anderson" , Feb 6, 2007

All buildings using city funds must be LEED-certified

The more you get into this, the more you realize we really do have the technologies available to make an enormous difference. One example is LEED certification. We have built an intermodal hub here where commuter rail, light rail, all modes of transportation come together at one place in the city. That's the first LEED-certified city-owned building. We went from that experience to me requiring by executive order that all buildings owned or managed by the city will be constructed or renovated according to at least LEED silver guidelines. Then we went from there to an ordinance that would require all buildings using city funds to be certified. People are finally understanding that just as with other building-code requirements, requiring greater energy efficiency and high performance is a legitimate role [for city government] " Source: David Roberts on Grist.org, "Interview with Anderson" , Feb 6, 2007

$9,000 solar array for Salt Palace Expansion

A major new renewable energy project is generating power today. It's a brand new solar array on the Salt Palace Expansion. Rocky Anderson: "You just see all the roofs. What amazing prospects we have from getting away from the reliance on burning fossil fuels." Salt Lake's mayor recently installed a $9,000 solar array, which is heating all of his hot water. He says with the costs getting more competitive and climate change getting worse each year, the future for renewables is bright. Rocky Anderson says, "We know that it makes sense because corporations and governments have been able to save money through both conservation and moving towards clean, renewable sources of energy." Source: John Daley on KSL TV, "Renewable Energy" , Sep 12, 2006

Click here for definitions & background information on Energy & Oil. Click here for a profile of Rocky Anderson. Click here for VoteMatch responses by Rocky Anderson. Click here for AmericansElect.org quiz by Rocky Anderson.
*Other big-city mayors on Energy & Oil:*	*Rocky Anderson on other issues:*
Mike Bloomberg (I,New York City) Cory Booker (D,Newark,NJ) Julian Castro (D,San Antonio,TX) Rahm Emanuel (D,Chicago) Phil Gordon (D,Phoenix) Tom Menino (D,Boston) Michael Nutter (D,Philadelphia) Annise Parker (D,Houston) Mike Rawlings (D,Dallas) Jerry Sanders (R,San Diego) Antonio Villaraigosa (D,Los Angeles) *Former Mayors:* Rocky Anderson (I,Salt Lake City) Tom Barrett (D,Milwaukee,WI) Jerry Brown (D,Oakland,CA) Rudy Giuliani (R,New York City) Dennis Kucinch (D,Cleveland,OH) Sarah Palin (R,Wasilla,AK)	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families/Children Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Infrastructure/Technology Jobs Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty

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