James Hansen served as head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies for 32 years, testified before congress about the urgent danger of Climate Change in the 80s, is often called the godfather of the Climate Change movement, is considered one of the world's top Climate Scientists, and is currently an environmental adjunct professor at Columbia University.
Hansen, never shy to speak the truth, eviscerated Hillary's Climate pandering:
http://www.theguardian.com/...
"It's just plain silly... No, you cannot solve the problem without a fundamental change, and that means you have to make the price of fossil fuels honest. Subsidizing solar panels is not going to solve the problem."
"We have two political parties, neither one of which is willing to face reality," said Hansen, who now heads up the Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions Program at Columbia University. "Conservatives pretend it's all a hoax, and liberals propose solutions that are non-solutions."
Internationally known Climate action advocate & 350.org founder Bill McKibben said:
"Much of the impact of her climate plan was undercut the next day by her unwillingness to talk about the supply side of the equation... Ducking questions about the Canadian tar sands or drilling in the Arctic makes everyone worry we're going to see eight more years of an 'all of the above' energy strategy, which is what we do not need to hear"
But for many who study climate change, Clinton's proposal lacked the ambition and sense of urgency appropriate to the scale of the problem.
Despite commitments to combat climate change, under Barack Obama the US became the largest oil-producing nation in 2012, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia, by producing at full capacity.
Clinton's outline would put the US on track to supply 33% of the country's electricity needs through renewables by 2027. That's a mere 8% improvement over Obama's plan.
It's not enough, according to Hansen. Renewables are a part of how the US will wean itself off fossil fuels, but the market has to be allowed to determine which combination of renewable fuels - not just solar - makes the most sense in each region. "You can't just legislate that," said Hansen. Clinton's plan "is going to make energy more expensive. You need to let energy efficiency and renewables and nuclear power and anything else that comes up compete."
Hansen said a credible candidate on climate change would be talking about policy that would allow the price of fossil fuels to rise gradually. "You have to recognize that as long as fossil fuels appear to be the cheapest energy, we'll just keep burning them," he said.
To be fair, Bernie Sanders has not released the details of his Climate Change action plan, which we all look forward to. Bill Mckibben and most of the Climate movement strongly support Bernie Sanders for 2016.
No politician has spoken out more often or more fiercely emphasized the urgency of our crisis than Bernie Sanders. He has fought to raise awareness with the Climate Movement, marched with us in The People's Climate March, and recognizes the small window of opportunity we have (~10 years) before catastrophe will be unavoidable.
There is plenty of room to question how far Bernie will push and how much he can achieve, but nobody is better suited to make the best effort we can. A vote for Hillary is guaranteed failure, as the necessary actions are not even on the table.
Vote Bernie Sanders. Do it for your children, they will thank you.
UPDATE - for those skeptic about Bernie's climate credentials:
Is Bernie Sanders the Best Candidate on Climate Change?
http://www.motherjones.com/...
according to rankings released by Climate Hawks Vote, a new super PAC, Sanders was the No. 1 climate leader in the Senate for the 113th Congress that ended in January... In the 112th Congress, Sanders ranked third behind Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). In the last Congress, he edged out Whitehouse by one point.
Bill McKibben, who founded 350.org and has led the fight to stop the Keystone XL pipeline, says he is confident Sanders understands the need to keep fossil fuels in the ground. Sanders has opposed Keystone, while Clinton has avoided taking a position on it. "He's been the most consistent and proactive voice in the entire Keystone fight," writes McKibben in an email. "Everything that's been needed—from speeches on the floor to legislation to demands that the State Department change its absurd review process—he and his staff have done immediately and with a high degree of professionalism…On climate stuff he's been the most aggressive voice in the Senate, rivaled only by Sheldon Whitehouse. He understands it for the deep, simple problem it is: that we can't keep burning this stuff."
environmentalists worry that these agreements—like NAFTA, CAFTA, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that is currently under consideration—give polluting companies too much power to undermine environmental regulations in signatory nations. As secretary of state, Clinton supported the TPP, although as a candidate her campaign advisors say she hasn't made up her mind on it. Sanders is one of the most skeptical members of the Senate on trade agreements and he is currently helping to lead the charge against the TPP.