CLINTON  (CONT)

sue of climate change. According to Sandalow, the concept of a market-based solution to climate change "was essentially made in the U.S.A. Now it's the foundation of the Kyoto Protocol, and the irony is that now almost the entire industrialized world is adopting it and we're not."

Going forward, Sandalow sees Clinton possibly becoming an "apostle for clean energy, a messenger for economic opportunities associated with clean energies and market-based solutions."

Jim Kennedy, Clinton's spokesperson, told Muckraker that he "cannot be specific about what other roles our foundation and President Clinton might play in this area going forward, but I can say that he sees it as a top-tier global challenge ... along with HIV/AIDS."

The former president is going to address the issue in both domestic and international forums, according to Kennedy. "He once had a bully pulpit, and now he has a bully podium," he said. And Clinton plans to use it, particularly on the international stage: "He believes we need to take the [clean-energy] message to the developing world, and to the Middle East, encouraging oil-producing countries to invest in renewable resources, because they'll be hit the hardest when fossil fuels are phased out."

It's often been said that Clinton could talk a dog off a meat wagon. If he can talk Middle Eastern dictatorships off the oil wagon, it will be a rhetorical feat for the history books. Come to think of it, the U.S. isn't exactly going to get off lightly during the phaseout of fossil fuels either, so perhaps Bubba -- who, despite everything, left office with a record-high approval rating -- could spare some of his persuasive power for the home front. He certainly won't find much competition.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyrightowner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.