Rep. Carolyn Maloney at the Verdant Power site on Roosevelt Island recently, with Verdant President Ron Smith.

Last month, I was delighted to tour Verdant Power’s new "kinetic hydropower" plant on the eastern shore of Roosevelt Island. As you may know, the plant harnesses the energy within the tides and currents of the East River, a potential source of power that until recently flowed out to sea, unharnessed. Our community is truly at the cutting edge of energy technology; in fact, we’re setting an example that the rest of the nation can and should follow.

If America is ever to become truly energy-independent, we need to invest in new technologies like those under development on the Island. That’s why I am working in Congress to secure federal funds to help Verdant’s scientists research even more effective ways of gathering tidal energy, which I hope will one day allow the company to deliver clean, renewable power not only to Roosevelt Island, but to other parts of the city, as well.

In addition to supporting projects – like the tidal energy plant – that hold great promise for the future, we in Congress are taking action to promote cleaner energy and tackle global warming in the near term – starting in Washington, D.C.

On June 7, my House Democratic colleagues and I introduced the Carbon-Neutral Government Act of 2007 (H.R. 2635), which would require our government to finally step up to the plate and become a leader on the serious issue of global warming. The federal government, which is the largest energy consumer in the United States, can and should lead the way to a greener future for our country and the world.

Under this bill, the federal government would have to take stock of its greenhouse gas emissions, freeze those emissions by 2010, and then reduce them over time to achieve zero emissions by 2050. The Environmental Protection Agency would be required to set annual government-wide emissions targets to achieve these reductions and each year, all federal agencies would have to issue public progress reports on how well they’re achieving our goals for a greener federal government. Lastly, the bill would set minimum emissions standards for all the motor vehicles in the federal government’s fleet.

Unfortunately, while Congress has been leading the way on these critical issues, at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue things are moving in the opposite direction. Under this Administration, our government has done virtually nothing to address global warming. In fact, earlier this year President Bush even went so far as to repeal an Executive Order calling for the government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Over 500 American cities and towns have already pledged to meet the targets for greenhouse gas reductions included in the Kyoto Protocol, an important international agreement to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, but the Bush Administration continues to refuse to ratify the treaty.

It is clearer than ever that the federal government must follow the lead set by Roosevelt Island and other communities throughout the country. Using clean energy and increasing energy efficiency will not only help slow global warming, they will also save taxpayer dollars. It is well past time for Washington to demonstrate that it is serious about giving future generations a cleaner environment in which to grow and live.