Thanks to Morra Aarons-Mele asking on whether to keep or let go of the Kyoto question. I say let it go and rephrase it. We NEED Sustainable Standards. We HAVE Sustainable Standards to use. Why doesn't Washington promote them?

1. They work better than laws in a capitalistic society where money drives everything.
2. They have been adopted through consensus voting of industrial groups, associations, leaders and followers of a given market. In short , they'll stick because many were involved in the making of the standard for years.

3. They are already in place and ready to do their work, NOW when we need to become a Sustainable Society ASAP.

That's the question I want to ask, "Why aren't they part of the conversation to stop climate change"? Is it because they weren't invented by Washington DC and therefore have no value?

Speaking of no value - I saw this in a recent Moveon.org email:

"John Dingell has been a member of Congress from Michigan since 1955. Since 1989, he has accepted $840,865 in campaign contributions from the automotive industry. [www.opensecrets.org]
Dingell has for years fought off any substantive increases in the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard. [Energy Washington Week, 6/27/07]"

That's why Sustainable Standards work, they aren't part of the political system that's bogged down in paybacks. And, they work on a global scale. What happens here happens everywhere and American Women are the tipping point to make it happen faster.

May I digress a bit into Standards 101?

100 companies make 90% of the products. Where does pollution originate? Most of it is in the raw materials and the manufacturing and transportation of products. Sustainable Standards take the entire life cycle of production into account. Once pollution and emissions are measured, then companies can improve.

Buildings - the making, heating/cooling/lighting and furnishing of them cause 75% of the CO2. The Green Building Council uses the LEED Standard to keep companies accountable. It also uses the SMART Sustainable Standard to keep all the little things that go into the building in line. SMART covers about 60% of the products out there. Can a law do that?

What do Sustainable Standards cover?
- Climate Change emissions.
- Ground air pollution
- Water pollution
- Toxic earth pollution
- Organic Food
- Organic Clothing
- Over 1000 toxic substances in all

So why don't you hear more about them? We don't have to go to Europe for answers, the answers are right here. Can we just talk about using them and let the market take its course?