The Obama administration is taking new steps to phase out the
production of a well-known chemical coolant used in refrigerators and
air conditioners that has been tied to global warming.
The White
House confirmed to The Hill that it plans to meet with some of the
largest chemical firms and food retailers in the country on Tuesday.
They will announce voluntary commitments to target the coolant R-134a, a
hydrofluorocarbon (HFC). The commitment would include phasing out similar HFC compounds used in nearly every office, home and automobile in the U.S.Companies
pledging new efforts to tackle emissions include Coca-Cola, Target, Red
Bull and several air conditioning and refrigeration retailers,
according to a fact sheet released by the White House.At
Tuesday’s White House meeting, a total of 22 companies and organizations
will commit to cut HFC emissions, phase out use of the coolant, or use
more climate-friendly refrigerants and systems by 2020. The
private sector pledges and executive actions to reduce emissions of HFCs
will have a dramatic effect in reducing greenhouse gases, the
administration said.
HFCs are 10,000 times more potent than carbon
dioxide, the White House stressed, making the new reductions equal to
taking 15 million cars off the road for 10 years...more
Just political theater for what's to come:
The move comes just weeks before Obama heads to the United Nations
climate summit in New York, Sept. 23, to tout the country's commitment
to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. Obama has made reducing climate change a key part of his second-term agenda, and has focused on administrative actions. The U.N. summit is meant to help build momentum for climate change talks scheduled for 2015 in Paris.
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
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