Edwards Proposes Greenhouse Gas Plan

Former senator and democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards speaks at the 30th annual Labor Awards Dinner in New York on Wednesday, April 11, 2007. The awards dinner, thrown by the Labor Research Association, honors those that have made contributions in support of the labor movement. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig - AP)

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- America should charge industry for creating greenhouse gases to generate money for investing in clean technology, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Saturday.

"People ought to have to pay that want to generate greenhouse gases," Edwards said at a global warming rally that was part of a nationwide day of demonstrations.

Edwards said charging polluters could generate up to $40 billion to invest in clean technology to "get us off our addiction to oil." He also said the United States should ban the construction of new coal-fired power plants

The former North Carolina senator, who was John Kerry's running mate in the 2004 presidential election, said the U.S. needs to put a cap on carbon emissions, and should achieve an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050.

"That is an aggressive goal but an achievable goal," Edwards said.

"We need you, we need America to be willing to be patriotic about something other than war," he said.

Saturday's event was part of the national Step It Up 2007 campaign, involving more than 1,300 actions planned in all 50 states.

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HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) _ Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday called President Bush's refusal to change in course in Iraq a "tragedy of historic proportions," but said she's not ready to back the latest attempt to cut funding for the war.

At a house party where more than 50 people sat on rented chairs crammed in a living room, Clinton was urged to co-sponsor a bill proposed by Sens. Harry Reid and Russ Feingold that would cut off funding for the Iraq war by March 31, 2008.

"I'm not ready to co-sponsor it now," Clinton said, repeating her argument that Congress instead should focus on pressuring Bush to work with Democrats.

"I think it's important for the American people to see the Democratic majority go the extra mile," she said. "We have to show the American people that it is he who is being unreasonable."