It’s an unfortunate fact of our society that he who shouts
the most is likely to get results, regardless of the validity of the message.
Advocacy groups and politicians bank on that – frequently relying on negative
campaigns to crush opponents. Radical environmental groups have successfully
shut down several projects around the world simply by spreading fear to an
unknowing public, often times completely misrepresenting a new technology or
method.
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| Former President Bill Clinton. (CNBC) Video: Pres. Clinton One-On-One |
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has done his research. He
has spent time post-presidency studying the negative effects of greenhouse
gases and alternatives to the world’s waste problem. As a result Clinton
endorses a combination of recycling and waste-to-energy practices and has set
up the Clinton Climate Initiative to forward his agenda.
“One of my obsessions is trying to close the landfills in
all these cities in the world by setting up systematic recycling of all the
plastic, metal and glass, taking the organic material and making fertilizer for
farmers who need it to increase their productivity and then burning the rest,
either to make steam heat for factories or to feed into the electrical grid,”
Clinton said in an interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo.
Clinton’s solution is tiered and recognizes the fact that a
combination of methods needs to be used in order to achieve the end goal of
eliminating landfills. In addition to recycling and composting, Clinton backs
waste-to-energy practices as a way of diverting leftover trash that would be
otherwise headed towards a landfill.
Clinton’s endorsement of waste-to-energy technology is
significant because of his status as a leader in the environmental sector. By
clearly articulating the role waste-to-energy projects play into the bigger
picture he may be able to unite a fractured environmental community.
Better BTU Take: Regardless of your political allegiance, Bill
Clinton gets this one right. His well-researched views are bipartisan and
something everyone should get on board with.
Video: Pres. Clinton One-On-One
More Information: Clinton Climate Initiative
