...remember?

Why are you hung up on the semantics when it is a stronger statement than any prior Secretary of State - of either party has made. Kerry was there with Al Gore in the first hearings on global warming and even before he protested the war, he was part of Boston's first Earth Day in 1970.

...decision yet.

But we do need to get awful goddamn busy on whatever mitigation we can muster.

I think with Keystone, the process needs to be followed ESPECIALLY if Obama ultimately kills it. The problem is that for political reasons the Southern part was allowed to be built and for 4 years the issue has seemed to be the particular route. It almost seems that Clinton/Obama have signaled that approval will come after the route is accepted.

Ignoring that it is extremely bad to use the tar sands shale period, I wonder if it could come down to the huge potential cost of leaks - that are very highly likely to happen. One article spoke of a leak of similar material that happened a few years ago that has cost a huge amount to rectify - and it STILL is a disaster. Given the expected value of that cost for the entire pipeline - ( a very large cost) times (an estimate of the likely number of leaks), I wonder if the project could be scuttled by demanding that the companies need to pay for insurance for that estimate. It would be prohibitive - but that reflects the true cost of the project and that cost should not be born by the US and the unfortunate areas that become affected.

Without a doubt!

...as he ought?

keystone , congress didi we didnt vote against better mpg congress did we didnt ignore the warnings from the environment congress did and you are part of that so YOU (along with the reast of congress) will be remembered as contributing to or failing to stop this disaster

have them do something. But most Americans could not care less, even on DU. Stop being blind: our congress reflects us.

If anything, people like Gore, Kerry, Boxer, Sanders,Udall, Whitehouse... (sorry for whom I miss) have been leaders on this issue. But it takes at least 50 people to pass a law (in the good days).

congress didnt need people to call the to tell them the climate is getting unhinged but they still voted down tougher epa mpg why? because the people that pay them said to do that.
congress didnt need phone calls to tell them keystone xl was and is a bad idea but they're gonna do it anyway why? because the people that pay them want it.
congress doesnt need phone calls to tell them it's time to get off fossil fuels but they dont and you know why
you dont think people have been calling about those issues?

"congress critters listen to the people who pay them - you think that people havent been calling?"

...you're just spouting nonsense, as you clearly have no idea about Kerry's record on the issue.

his to bare. im saying dont blame "our generation" as if we ALL ignored this problem when not all of us had the power to do anything about it.

"congress critters listen to the people who pay them - you think that people havent been calling?"
that's not non-sense , people have been calling about the climate changing, and all efforts are being resisted and watered down by congress not our generation

In 2010, when a huge effort was made to craft something that would at least start to improve the situation, there were I think 14 Democratic Senators from "coal states" who wrote a letter that made it clear they would not vote for anything that made their energy costs higher. Many of your favorites likely signed this - including DU hero Al Franken.

The reason was not that they didn't believe in climate change or that they were bought, they were responding to THEIR constituents concerned about their state's economy and jobs. (This in fact was why Kerry's proposal was so much more complicated than some of the simpler ideas favored by the left media - it included ways that states and people - through no fault of their own - who used the dirtiest energy were given help in bearing the costs of switching.)

If you are not able to know that, live in your little bubble.

...Congress. Kerry has never been one of them.

...eight years because so many people were 'sleeping.' Kerry has been an advocate for addressing climate change forever...how can people not know this?

"Stop being blind: our congress reflects us."

There are many issues where public polling shows one position, yet "our" representatives do the opposite. Congress and, more generally, all elected officials, mostly do the bidding of their corporate donors, and give lip service to the people's demands at election time.

Kerry is one of the better ones, I'm glad to see him make this statement. And sure there are many people who conveniently ignore climate change so they don't have to come to terms with it. But the larger point, I believe, is that the citizens of this planet are much more concerned about climate change than the corporations who are backing our political leadership, and it's the corporate interests which are largely driving climate policy.

"no john kerry it wont be a blanket "our" generation it'll be YOU and your collegues."

...Kerry voted against approval of the pipeline, and he has also been one of the strongest advocates for action on climate change. He also pushed comprehensive legislation to address the issue during President Obama's first term.

Kerry-Boxer clean energy bill: Chairman’s mark and EPA analysis released
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-10-23-kerry-boxer-clean-energy-bill-chairmans-mark-and-epa-analysis

Boxer Statement on Committee Passage of S. 1733 – The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Majority.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=c512ac4d-802a-23ad-4884-2b95a8405efe

Confirmation Of Climate Hawk Kerry As Secretary Of State May Doom Dirty Keystone XL Pipeline
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/01/29/1513521/confirmation-of-climate-hawk-kerry-as-secretary-of-state-death-blow-dirty-keystone-xl-pipeline/

my point is he cant lump us all into the failiure to stop this global disaster when we didnt have the power to. that be falls on congress they could have been working on this since carter but they didnt, and they still are not.

He has - at least since 2005 - especially when speaking to young people, spoken of how in the early 1970s, the people with Earth Day and targeting a dozen Congress critters as the dirty dozen made the Congress get serious on the issue leading to the Clean air act, the clean water act and the beginning of the EPA.

I think any sensible politician would know that he/she has more say - and thus more responsibility to do what is right. However, Kerry has spoken out on this and he worked hard to craft something that could get 60 votes. This was harder than on other issues where all or almost all the Democrats could be counted on. In the end, the Republicans who had agreed publicly broke away due to what they called broken promises on other issues - sound familiar? Here, he is making a very high profile argument for it --- and he seems to have influenced Obama who has not been all that strong on this.

They will be responsible for fucking up the planet beyond recognition and perhaps even the extinction of the human race. Nice going, "me" generation.

...'this hurts my feelings. '(To quote Hillary)

Of course there are those who aren't part of it. Just makes me angry...the selfishness.

...the apology. I really appreciated it.

Unless they can breathe under water.

...posting negatively. What's with all the negativity in this thread? CSpan says it will replay at 8EST/5PST if you haven't watched.

Here is what he actually said. according to the Hill

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/284017-kerry-comes-out-swinging-on-climate-change

...strategy. He made the case for the US leading in an interdependent world...in business, education, energy, getting our economic house in order, climate change and our VALUES as Americans. Not new to anyone who has listened to JK over time. Evidently new to TPM.

He spoke a lot about what Americans value and how those values drive what we should do around the world. It seems the media...again...only listened to what they wanted to hear. Surprise, surprise...

on climate change. We get that she stuck you with the deal she made to protect her own political future, but, please don't sign it.

She acted on behalf of her boss, the president.

.

The sec of state is not a rogue position. They are the right hand of the president.

Clinton camp needs to get their stories straight. Most powerful, independent and influential Sec of State ever or a pawn?

HRC was ready to sign it 4 years ago because she and Bill supported it from the get go, with or without a President Obama. She LEFT the deal SHE made unsigned for HER political survival.

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/186969-clinton-keystone-pipeline-review-is-fair

The SoS does the bidding of the president. Nothing you say changes that fact. The president wanted the pipeline, and gave her instructions to carry out, and she carried them out.

and to further EXPAND the military's presence there.

Biden and Kerry sided with getting out sooner and shrinking our footprint there.

Gee - Hillary won that one, too.

Hillary does all of Obama's thinking for him? You talk as if Obama is Hillary's puppet? Ok, whatever you say.

to do the wielding.

SHE is the one who took the meetings and reported back on those meetings. SHE is the one who had impact 'studies' taken by firms favorable to Keystone that would report back TO the president. She and Bill knew exactly how to make those type of deals long before Obama even stepped foot in the Oval Office.

Obama is a mindless puppet controlled by Hillary Clinton.

Why do I not believe a word you say?

with assessing and reviewing Keystone and the hiring of the firms to do the reviews And the fact that Hillary was for the deal 4 years ago, and tapped firms FRIENDLY to Keystone deal and her as the evaluators. After 4 years what did State Dept decide?

We'll see.

Here's hoping Kerry prevails this time.

The photograph below is of methane bubbles frozen in Arctic ice, temporarily stopped in their ascent into the atmosphere.

More at: http://www.democraticunderground.com/112736783

A positive feedback/greenhouse effect won't be possible to reverse within any realistic timeframe.

And to add - No, I don't expect everyone to simply jump off a rooftop.

They have already surpassed us in greenhouse gas production.

Polution levels in China and Russia are many, many times worse than anywhere in the United States. And trying to get the Russians or Chinese to do anything on this front is like talking to a brick wall.

the greenhouse gases that a Chinese produces. The US never joined the Kyoto Treaty. We are still a large part of the problem.

The CEO of the company seeking to build the Keystone XL pipeline doesn’t appear to view Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a longtime advocate of battling climate change, as a threat to the project if he becomes secretary of State.

The State Department is leading the federal review of the proposed pipeline to bring Canadian oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries, although President Obama has indicated that he will ultimately be the decider.

TransCanada Corp. CEO Russ Girling tells Reuters that the project's standing should not change if Kerry becomes Obama’s next top diplomat, despite the Bay State Democrat's strong support for cutting carbon emissions. From the news service's story:

But it is not clear if Kerry would inherit the review

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/273443-transcanada-ceo-says-kerry-pick-shouldnt-change-keystone-review

OK, that guy's opinion from December decides it. Everyone has an opinion.

Bobby Kennedy, Jr. says Obama will kill Keystone XL Pipeline:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11027827

Oh, things have changed since that Hill article you posted.

Keystone XL pipeline decision delayed until at least June
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022304088

"you have more faith in our reps than i do"

...have to be pushed, and there is a lot of money lobbying for the project.

Supporters Of Keystone XL Outspend Opponents 35 To 1
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/02/20/1614831/lobbying-budgets-of-keystone-xl-opponents-exceeded-that-of-supporters-by-more-than-35-to-1/

This should be a decision based on science, not bogus job creation claims.

Kerry could yet prove to be a major game changer. It's a good start.