JRE Buzz: Carbon Neutrality Edition

Today the Daily Kos went gaga over this story:

EDWARDS CALLS FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL GONZALES TO RESIGN

Chapel Hill, North Carolina - Senator John Edwards released the following statement calling for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales following today's report of White House involvement in the recent firings of federal prosecutors.

"Today's news is only the latest and most disturbing sign of the politicization of justice under President Bush. From the abuse of investigative authority under the Patriot Act to the unconstitutional imprisonment of the Guantanamo Bay detainees and illegal torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Bagram Air Force Base, this president has consistently shown contempt for the rule of law.

"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales betrayed his public trust by playing politics when his job is to enforce and uphold the law. By violating that trust, he's done a great disservice to his office. If White House officials ordered this purge, he should have refused them. If they insisted, he should have resigned in protest. Attorney General Gonzales should certainly resign now."

I think it's great, and so did David Corn with this post on The Nation:

Edwards Wins Gonzales Primary

Former Senator John Edwards wins. He's the first of the leading Democratic presidential candidates to call for the head of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on a stick--that is, for the A.G. to resign over the still-expanding U.S. attorney scandal.

Then Corn adds this little gem of a comment:

Edwards left current Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the dust.

Will we stand with John Edwards for our constiutition? Damn straight!

For the record, Gonzales' confirmation hearings were held after Edwards left the Senate. However, I found a link to a FN interview of Edwards in March 2005, in which he said he would have voted NO to confirming that creep.

But to be truthful, the press release that got my attention was this one:

EDWARDS INCREASES EFFORTS TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING
Announces campaign will be carbon neutral

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – As part of his efforts to combat global warming, Senator John Edwards announced today that he will make his campaign “carbon neutral.” Edwards believes global warming is one of the great challenges facing America and the world and that we can all take immediate action to decrease the amount of carbon we produce. By conserving energy and purchasing carbon offsets, the Edwards campaign will offset the carbon emitted by Edwards and his staff’s campaign travel, and the energy used in his campaign headquarters and field offices.

“Global warming is an emergency and we can’t wait until the next president is elected to take action,” said Edwards. “Each of us can take responsibility in small ways to make a big difference. I encourage all Americans to conserve energy in their own homes and workplaces and help fight global warming.”

In February, Governor Tom Vilsack announced he would be the first presidential candidate to plan a carbon neutral campaign. Edwards shares his commitment to protecting our environment and reducing our carbon footprint. The campaign and its landlord have taken the following steps to conserve energy:

--Organizing a One Corps National Day of Energy Action in January to get supporters involved in the fight against global warming by working on community service activities including weatherizing homes and distributing energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.
--Using timers and motion detectors to control lights and shut down office equipment when not in use and turning off computers, televisions, and lights when not in use.
--Online monitoring and management of heating and air conditioning to conserve energy.
--Buying 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper and other recycled paper products.
--Recycling paper, plastic, glass, cardboard, and other products.
--Encouraging staff to adopt energy efficient practices in their office and homes. About a quarter of John Edwards for President headquarters employees walk to work.

After conserving energy, the campaign will purchase carbon offsets to make it carbon neutral. Carbon offsets allow one party to pay another to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. Edwards will also financially support renewable energy projects to make them commercially viable and reduce the need for carbon-based energy.

Is a carbon neutral White House in store if JRE goes all of the way and wins? That's forward thinking.