BG on Kerry's speech today on energy & global climate change

[beachmom]

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/03/kerry_clean_ene.html

Senator John F. Kerry, who has added global warming atop the Foreign Relations Committee's to-do list, told industry officials and others today that a clean energy revolution is coming -- and they need to get on board.

"We are in the midst of a fundamental shift in our national and governmental priorities that could one day be remembered—alongside the presidencies of Roosevelt, Johnson, and Reagan—as truly transformational," Kerry said at a forum sponsored by Hitachi and featuring panels organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Brookings Institution.

Kerry noted that the economic stimulus package includes $80 billion for alternative energy. He also pointed out that President Obama, in his address to a joint session of Congress last week and in his proposed budget, called for capping carbon emissions and creating a market for the sale of pollution credits.

"Cap-and-trade is no longer an academic question," Kerry said, according to prepared remarks. "The President and leadership in both houses of Congress are on board to make it a reality, and you need to start preparing to take advantage of it."

"If passed, this will constitute the most significant realignment of our energy system in US history," the Massachusetts lawmaker added. "For the first time ever, America will put a price on carbon that will light a fire under our green entrepreneurs, drive development of new clean technologies, re-energize our economy, and tackle global climate change—all at the same time. This should not be frightening. Far from it: the change and the challenge may both be tremendous, but so are the possibilities. I truly believe that the next four or five Googles are in the energy sector, staring us in the face."

At the link is his entire speech.