What is the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease dependence on foreign oil?
Gore proposes that a part of the budget surplus be used to set up a Trust Fund for the Environment. The money would be used to fund research into more energy efficient technologies, protect rivers and forests and clean up the nation’s air and water resources. He believes that the Kyoto protocol should be ratified since it is “an important first step” in reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Gore says the only long-term solution to fossil fuel dependence is to phase out the internal combustion engine and promote newer, cleaner technologies for vehicles. He has offered to go beyond the current moratorium on oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts and institute an outright ban on drilling there. He would also like to maintain the ban on drilling in the pristine Arctic shelf region off Alaska. (More on Gore’s environmental views.) Bush opposes the Kyoto protocol, which he regards as too intrusive. He believes that industry and market driven solutions are the only way t
