By Erin Kelly
Free Press Washington Writer

The Senate will soon consider global warming legislation by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that could help towns and counties throughout Vermont boost energy efficiency and reduce the use of fossil fuel.

Sanders' legislation, attached to a major energy bill the Senate will take up this month, would create a nationwide Energy and Environmental Block Grant Program modeled after the popular Community Development Block Grants that have helped local governments build affordable housing and community centers, revitalize aging downtowns and create public parks.

Sanders' proposed energy grants could be used by Vermont towns and counties to update building codes to require construction of energy-efficient homes and businesses, retrofit old buildings with newer technology, experiment with alternative energy, create incentives for residents to car pool or ride the bus, and organize voluntary efforts to encourage people to save energy by turning down their thermostats or replacing traditional light bulbs with compact fluorescent lighting.

The Senate also will vote on a Sanders amendment that would create a program to train workers to install solar panels, retrofit older homes and offices, and perform energy audits to educate people about how to save money. A third amendment by Sanders would provide grants to the University of Vermont and other colleges and universities to improve the energy efficiency of their classrooms, dorms and administration buildings.

"Vermont is a very environmentally conscious state, and people feel very strongly about the need to do something to reduce global warming," Sanders said. "They fear very much what will happen if we don't take bold action now."

Sanders, an independent who is aligned with the Democratic majority, is in a unique position to do something about global warming, which threatens Vermont's maple sugar and skiing industries. He is the only senator on the majority side to serve on both the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee, where he is lead sponsor of legislation to reduce global warming emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

That legislation is being co-sponsored by all the top Democratic presidential candidates in the Senate -- Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Joe Biden of Delaware.

It still faces a tough test in the Senate, where Democrats have only a slim majority and energy companies have a lot of clout. Also, President Bush has opposed the kind of deep, mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas emissions Sanders is seeking.

Greater impact


Although conservation groups have long considered Sanders an environmental champion, this is the first time he has been in a position to have so much impact. Sanders moved from the House to the Senate in January after winning an election to fill the seat of retired Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt.

"Having Bernie Sanders in a position to influence global warming policy is good for the planet," said Ben Dunham of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, an environmental and consumer advocacy organization.

"He is the lead sponsor of the only bill in Congress that would actually solve the problem of global warming," he added, "and he's an outspoken advocate of energy efficiency and always has an eye out for solving the problem in a way that will benefit the poor. If there's only going to be one senator who can be on both the energy and environment committees, I'd want it to be Bernie."

Critics say Sanders' legislation would destroy the economy and hurt middle-class Americans by raising energy costs. By mandating reductions in the use of fossil fuel, Sanders would put coal miners and coal companies out of business and take away one of America's cheapest sources of energy, business groups say.

"Bernie Sanders represents the hard left and the radical environmental movement on energy issues," said Myron Ebell, a global warming analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market think tank that opposes most environmental regulation. "He will vote for less energy production, higher energy prices, more subsidies of uneconomical sources of energy, and more controls on people so that they will have fewer choices and will be forced to pay higher prices on energy."

Sanders acknowledges that reducing global warming emissions by switching to cleaner, renewable energy will put coal miners and others out of work and would raise energy costs in the short term. He said that's why his energy bill amendment would establish a training program to help people find new jobs creating energy-efficient homes and office buildings. He said he will continue to fight for increases in low-income home heating assistance and free home weatherization programs.

"We can create millions of good-paying jobs," Sanders said. "Right now, somebody in Burlington, Vermont, who wants to retrofit their home to make it more energy-efficient would have a hard time finding somebody who could do that. We want to put people to work helping people save money by wasting less energy."

Sanders and his allies in the environmental community say the biggest threat to the senator's global warming legislation will be efforts to water it down. There already are competing bills that would not reduce greenhouse gas emissions anywhere near as much or as fast as the Vermonter's bill.

"There's always a tendency in Congress to say, 'Let's compromise here,' " Sanders said. "But we don't have time to wait. If we don't get a handle on global warming, the results will be devastating for our economy and our environment."