Herseth urges balanced approach to global warming
Posted: Saturday, April 14, 2007
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The nation's response to global warming should include a mix of economic incentives and reasonable requirements that treat all economic sectors fairly, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., said Friday.
Herseth Sandlin, who was recently appointed to a U.S. House panel on global warming, said scientists seem to agree global warming is being caused by the release of greenhouse gases and will change the climate in some parts of the world.
"The debate has changed from does it exist and what's caused it to what are we going to do about it," Herseth Sandlin said in response to a question when she met with about three dozen members of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce. "The projections out to 2050 aren't good."
People need to look at global warming because their children and grandchildren would be affected by any climate changes that occur by 2050, Herseth Sandlin said.
The congresswoman said she was appointed to the special House committee to represent agriculture and rural America. The panel will study global warming and make recommendations at the end of next year.
Herseth Sandlin said Friday she has not yet taken a firm position on any specific proposal. She said earlier that she has not yet decided whether she would support mandatory caps on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
A growing number of business leaders are supporting action to reduce global warming, Herseth Sandlin said. China and India should be held to the same requirements as other industrialized nations, she said.
Many Democrats in Congress would like to pass a global warming bill while President Bush is still in office, Herseth Sandlin said. If the next president elected in 2008 is a Democrat and Democrats control both houses of Congress, environmental groups might exert pressure to pass measures that would cause too much economic disruption, she said.
Herseth Sandlin also said the congressional delegation and Gov. Mike Rounds have given their overall support to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's proposed $6 billion expansion project because it would boost South Dakota's economy.
However, she said she knows that many South Dakotans oppose the project.
An upgraded rail system would help haul grain and ethanol out of South Dakota, Herseth Sandlin said. And it could help persuade a utility company to build a new coal-fired power plant near Pierre, she said.
The DM&E project would rebuild 600 miles of track across South Dakota and Minnesota and add 260 miles of new track around the southern end of the Black Hills to reach Wyoming's Powder River Basin. It would haul low-sulfur coal eastward to power plants.
DM&E sought a $2.3 billion federal loan to help finance the project, but the Federal Railroad Administration rejected the application Feb. 26. DM&E officials have said they are now seeking private financing.
Opposition has cropped up in Pierre and Brookings, where the increased train traffic would go through the cities.
Even if the expansion is never built, financing is needed to upgrade the current rail to improve safety along the line, Herseth Sandlin said. She said she is seeking money in a budget measure to build an overpass or underpass where the rail line crosses the highway in Pierre.
Herseth Sandlin, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, said the next farm bill will have to balance price support programs, rural economic development, programs that feed the poor, conservation programs and promotion of ethanol and other energy sources.
She said she hopes it will include an ongoing system for helping farmers and ranchers hit by disasters.
In addition, rural development funds should be used only in rural areas, Herseth Sandlin said. Some of the funds have gone to places like Cape Cod, Mass., she said.
Conservation programs will be protected in the next farm bill because the measure cannot pass without support of lawmakers who back those programs, she said. "The mood in Congress is such that we can't shortchange conservation."
Herseth Sandlin, who was recently appointed to a U.S. House panel on global warming, said scientists seem to agree global warming is being caused by the release of greenhouse gases and will change the climate in some parts of the world.
"The debate has changed from does it exist and what's caused it to what are we going to do about it," Herseth Sandlin said in response to a question when she met with about three dozen members of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce. "The projections out to 2050 aren't good."
People need to look at global warming because their children and grandchildren would be affected by any climate changes that occur by 2050, Herseth Sandlin said.
The congresswoman said she was appointed to the special House committee to represent agriculture and rural America. The panel will study global warming and make recommendations at the end of next year.
Herseth Sandlin said Friday she has not yet taken a firm position on any specific proposal. She said earlier that she has not yet decided whether she would support mandatory caps on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
A growing number of business leaders are supporting action to reduce global warming, Herseth Sandlin said. China and India should be held to the same requirements as other industrialized nations, she said.
Many Democrats in Congress would like to pass a global warming bill while President Bush is still in office, Herseth Sandlin said. If the next president elected in 2008 is a Democrat and Democrats control both houses of Congress, environmental groups might exert pressure to pass measures that would cause too much economic disruption, she said.
Herseth Sandlin also said the congressional delegation and Gov. Mike Rounds have given their overall support to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad's proposed $6 billion expansion project because it would boost South Dakota's economy.
However, she said she knows that many South Dakotans oppose the project.
An upgraded rail system would help haul grain and ethanol out of South Dakota, Herseth Sandlin said. And it could help persuade a utility company to build a new coal-fired power plant near Pierre, she said.
The DM&E project would rebuild 600 miles of track across South Dakota and Minnesota and add 260 miles of new track around the southern end of the Black Hills to reach Wyoming's Powder River Basin. It would haul low-sulfur coal eastward to power plants.
DM&E sought a $2.3 billion federal loan to help finance the project, but the Federal Railroad Administration rejected the application Feb. 26. DM&E officials have said they are now seeking private financing.
Opposition has cropped up in Pierre and Brookings, where the increased train traffic would go through the cities.
Even if the expansion is never built, financing is needed to upgrade the current rail to improve safety along the line, Herseth Sandlin said. She said she is seeking money in a budget measure to build an overpass or underpass where the rail line crosses the highway in Pierre.
Herseth Sandlin, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, said the next farm bill will have to balance price support programs, rural economic development, programs that feed the poor, conservation programs and promotion of ethanol and other energy sources.
She said she hopes it will include an ongoing system for helping farmers and ranchers hit by disasters.
In addition, rural development funds should be used only in rural areas, Herseth Sandlin said. Some of the funds have gone to places like Cape Cod, Mass., she said.
Conservation programs will be protected in the next farm bill because the measure cannot pass without support of lawmakers who back those programs, she said. "The mood in Congress is such that we can't shortchange conservation."
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