JOHN EDWARDS SURVEYS 9TH WARD 'GREEN HOME'

TIMES-PICAYUNE. FRI, JULY 25, 2008. By Nicole Dungca

During his second visit to New Orleans this year, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards on Thursday toured a green home in the Lower 9th Ward and held a news conference to talk about efforts to combat climate change. Edwards will co-chair a national climate initiative that will focus on influencing civic leaders and lawmakers to push environmentally-friendly legislation.

Edwards, who last visited New Orleans in January when he announced he was dropping out of the presidential race, was joined in a news conference by Global Green USA CEO Matt Petersen, who spoke of the dangers facing coastal cities across the country.

Petersen said he wants his sustainable building projects in New Orleans to serve as models for "green" architecture throughout the country.

New Orleans is an important part of the initiative, Petersen said, because it would be the first city to be affected by global warming's effects on sea level, Petersen said.

"New Orleans is on the front-line and we're here today to draw a line in the sand and say we're not going to lose New Orleans to sea levels rising," Petersen said. "We're going to do the smart thing and that is take action and prevent global warming from getting worse."

The climate change initiative will include a conference next year and a "Gulf Coast Climate Action plan," both of which aim to establish backers for legislation involving issues like sustainable housing and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

"I think there's a lot of work to do and what we have to do is convince political leaders locally, state-wide, and critically, nationally, about this extraordinary opportunity that we have here," Edwards said.

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