If Florida embraced its solar and wind power potential and got 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020, it would create 37,000 new jobs, generate more than $16 billion in economic activity by 2025, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 319 million tons, a new study commissioned by the state Department of Environmental Protection shows.

The just-released report examined 28 policy measures in Republican Gov. Charlie Crist’s 2008 Climate Action Plan, including the 20 percent by 2020 renewable electricity standard.

In all, it found that implementing the full Climate Action Plan could add almost 150,000 new jobs and bring almost $40 billion in increased economic activity to the Sunshine state.

Unfortunately, the Florida legislature undermined the governor’s efforts to turn that renewable energy standard into law this spring during what longtime observers of the statehouse said was one of the most dysfunctional and depressing legislative sessions in memory.

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Tough auto emissions standards backed by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist cleared an important obstacle when a state commission approved rules fiercely opposed by the auto industry but praised by environmentalists.

The Florida Environmental Regulation Commission voted 6-1 to adopt an emissions rule as a way of lowering the greenhouse gases. The Florida rule to regulate carbon emissions from cars is modeled after the California rule which is still being held up in regulatory limbo.

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To help you wade through all of media hype and speculation, I’ve put together a short list of possible McCain runningmates and their positions on energy and the environment. To add some color, I’ve enlisted the support of several prominent bloggers who have more intimate knowledge of the potential candidates’ environmental stance and record (where possible).

The Short List:

Tim Pawlenty: Pawlenty is relatively young, conservative, and popular. As the Governor of Minnesota, Pawlenty Advanced the Community Based Energy Development Credit to encourage the development and use of locally owned wind and clean energy sources and established a goal of obtaining 800 megawatts of community based wind to be added to our electric system by 2010. Pawlenty also proposed and passed Minnesota’s largest ever Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) agreement, authorizing the set-aside of 120,000 acres of marginal crop land near environmentally sensitive waterways.

Maria Surma Manka of Maria Energia: “Governor Pawlenty has responded well to Minnesotans - including his evangelical Christian pastor - who have demanded action to fight global warming. Thanks to citizens, legislators and the Governor, Minnesota has a biofuels mandate, renewable energy standard and efficiency requirements. But we still struggle with our dependence on coal and oil. Whether chosen as VP or not, I hope “T. Paw” will show even stronger leadership to help move us away from our old-fashioned energy system and on to something cleaner and more efficient for the 21st century.”

Mitt Romney: I know I might make some enemies by saying this, but I have a hard time believing that anyone with five children in this day and age can honestly call themselves an environmentalist [Editor's note: this thread has been picked up in the GO Forums if you'd like to discuss it at depth].

As governor of Massachusetts from January 2003 to January 2007, Mitt Romney got off to a promising start on a green issues, but then repeatedly disapointed the state’s environmental community [PDF]. In 2005, Romney pulled Massachusetts out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a pact between Northeastern states that calls for emissions cuts, even though his administration had spent more than two years helping to shape the deal (since then, Romney’s successor, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick [D], reversed that decision).

Romney’s opposition to the proposed offshore wind farm in the waters of Nantucket Sound is not likely to gain him any favor in the eyes of renewable energy advocates, or the larger environmental community. Wendy Williams at The Huffington Post: “Throughout his four-year term heading up the Bay State government, Romney’s behind-the-scenes stalling tactics were both legion and legend.”

Charlie Crist: Florida Governor, Charlie Crist may have one of the most progressive environmental platforms of all McCain’s pottential VP candidates. In a January interview with Grist, Gov. Crist spoke unflinchingly about his support for the environment. He said, “[I]t really goes back to Teddy Roosevelt for me, as a Republican — here was a guy 100 years ago who understood the importance of conservation: protecting the environment, establishing our national park system.

Noah Levy of Red, Green, and Blue: “He has shown himself through words and actions to be a true friend to the environment. However, the reversal of his position toward offshore drilling combined with his shrugging off of McCain’s negative vote toward the restoration of the Everglades reek of political opportunism.”

John Thune: The young, extremely conservative senator from South Dakota,  spent 3 terms in the House and then knocked off Tom Daschle in the 2004 election. Thune had the highest LCV score of all the potential VPs at 30%. But that figure is up from a 9% rating the Congressman earned in the 109th Congress (2001-2002), and from 2004, when he earned the LCV’s “Dirty Dozen” designation.

More recently, Thune has been a champion of the corn ethanol industry, and has voted to protect the economic interests of Big Ag in his home state of South Dakota.  Thune is also part of the so-called “Gang of Ten,” a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators pushing a proposed energy policy that would break the stalemate currently dogging Congress. The proposal would open additional drilling areas in the Gulf of Mexico, and allows Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia to choose whether they want to drill of their coasts. Existing bans off the West Coast and ANWR would remain in place. The proposal would also dedicate $20 billion to R&D of alternative fuels and extends a series of tax credits and incentives, such as for the purchase of hybrid vehicles.

Eric Cantor: The four-term Republican Representative from Virginia’s seventh district took two full terms to break out of the basement of the LCV ratings with a score of 0%; but is now making a run for double digits as Cantor has moved to 5% in the last term and 7% in the current term.

Terry Carter of Too Progressive: “Eric Cantor has a history of blindly following the failed regressive policies of the Bush administration and the Republican party as a whole, voting nearly 100 percent of the time with the Bush administration throughout his (Cantor’s) Congressional career.  That having been said it pretty much goes without saying that Cantor is once again siding with the Republican party (and the big oil companies) and promoting a regressive energy policy that will provide virtually no long OR short term relief for average American’s struggling with gas and energy prices.  Cantor, a potential VP candidate, Republican presidential nominee John McCain and the Republican party as a whole are once again showing where their true allegiance lies - with the big oil companies that have upported their party for years.a prolific fundraiser for the campaign.”

Longer Shots:

Christine Todd Whitman: Though probably a long shot, the former Secretary of the EPA in the at the beginning of George W. Bush’s first administration now runs an energy lobbying group called the Whitman Strategy Group.

Newt Gingrich: Newt’s been hard at work billing himself as an environmentalist as of late. Economically-bereft “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” campaign. While Gingrich might have the conservative record to attract that particular wing of the party, he may be too polarizing of a figure to be McCain’s runningmate.

Bobby Jindal: of Louisiana. Jindal Voted NO on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies in 2007 and Voted YES on deauthorizing “critical habitat” for endangered species in 2005. It’s not all bad though. Jindal did vote YES on increasing AMTRAK funding by adding $214M to $900M in 2006.

Bob Portman: Virtually unknown nationally, Portman is a former one-term congressman from the key state of Ohio, who, in his single term as a U.S. Representative earned an LCV score of 36% in the 105th Congress (1998-1999). Portman likes canoeing and kayaking. In 1984 he traveled to China to kayak the Li River and a portion of the Yangzi River. He has also kayaked the entire Rio Grande.

Concluding Remarks:

John McCain has a very real dilemma to address: How does he simultaneously satisfy the conservative wing of the Republican Party and attract the moderates and independents who would be a critical component of a McCain win? More specifically, can candidate McCain select a VP runningmate with a strong record on the environment, one that might also support a cap-and-trade for carbon emissions - a rather unpopular among most conservative Republicans - and still mobilize the conservative base?

We’ll soon find out.

Related Posts:

• Is McCain Serious About Cap-and-Trade? Economic Adviser Forbes Doesn’t Think So
• Is Florida Governor Charlie Christ’s ‘Green Cred’ Deserved?
• Where Does Chuck Hagel Stand on Environmental Issues?

Sources used for this story: U.S. News and World Report; Right Wing News; CBS News; League of Conservation Voters

Photo: Ohio AFL-CIO

Some Democrats would dislike the choice of Hagel though, as it would put a Republican in good position to win the White House the next time around should Obama win. Of course there is also the possibility that John McCain might select the Independent and primarily liberal Senator Joe Lieberman as his vice president pick. So a dual-party ticket is possible on both sides.

Hagel’s opposition to the Iraq War is the principle reason why many Democrats label him the “new John McCain.” (the 2000ish John McCain that is– not the soulless hack we see now). From Nebraska, Hagel is one of the few prominent Republican politicians that Democrats like because he speaks with conviction and does not always file in with his party’s line. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Florida Governor Charlie Crist also to some extent fit into this category.

Hagel, along with Rhode Island Democratic Senator Jack Reed, is currently joining Barack Obama on his international world tour to places like Afghanistan and Iraq. By having Hagel accept Obama’s invitation to join him on the trip, it has only fueled additional speculation that his chances of being selected as vice president are real. Hagel has also said previously that he is open to the possibility of running with Obama: a bold gesture. Hagel’s status as a Vietnam War veteran and his foreign policy experience would add a lot to Obama’s candidacy, in addition to perhaps winning over some independent voters and moderate Republicans to Obama’s side.

So given this possibility, I thought it would be cool and exciting if Obama made Hagel his choice. Although I have read that Hagel’s positions on almost all issues other than the Iraq War seriously differ from those of Obama. Their differences of opinion on abortion is the one difference most commonly mentioned by reporters. So I asked myself earlier today, where is Hagel on environmental issues?

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Last week, Red Green and Blue assessed the green credentials of John McCain’s potential presidential running mate, Charlie Crist. As the Florida Governor signs a landmark multi-billion dollar deal to preserve the Everglades, we ask again, is it possible to love big oil and be green at the same time?

Earlier this month, Florida Governor Charlie Crist won a lot of friends in the oil industry by suggesting that he could live with oil-wells off the coast of Florida. In the same week he also gained support from environmentalists for brokering an agreement that will reclaim 300 square miles of the Everglades from sugar farming.

So why should we care? Well it just so happens that Crist is the Governor of a crucial swing-state in the upcoming presidential election, as well as being a contender for the Republican Vice-Presidential slot.

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Speculation began immediately thereafter that Crist might make a great running mate for McCain, given his popularity in Florida, and his potential ability to swing the crucial electoral state toward McCain during the general election.

One reason why Crist is popular is because there is a public perception that he really cares about environmental issues, much more so than the typical governor or politician (Republican or Democrat). As Crist might become McCain’s running mate, it seems worthy of investigation as to whether or not the Governor’s green credibility is rightly deserved– especially after Crist’s reversal Tuesday on his position as to lifting the U.S. ban on drilling offshore for oil. Now he says we should do it.

Here are some of the environmental highlights from Charlie Crist’s first 2 years as governor of Florida:

• In July of last year, Crist hosted a Climate Change conference in Miami. The conference served as a national platform for Crist to sign executive orders pledging the state of Florida to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, among many other initiatives to combat global warming. It places Florida among the most “green” southern states, at least in government philosophy and legislation. The conference included notable guests such as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Kennedy, Jr., and Theodore Roosevelt IV (a relative of the famous conservation-minded president).

• Right after the conference, Crist returned to Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee and showed off some improvements that he made to the Governor’s Mansion. A $70,000 hydrogen fuel cell now powers the house, and solar panels help heat the pool and circulate water. The Governor’s staff estimates that the eventual reduction in carbon emissions will be approximately 20%. The hydrogen cell, however, won’t pay for itself in cost savings until sometime around 2031. The solar panels have already paid back their cost financially in energy savings (they only cost $3500).

• Crist said several weeks ago that he would veto a bill that would allow developers to destroy sea grass, a crucial keystone species in Florida’s ocean waters, under the condition that developers would replant elsewhere. Environmental groups cheered this decision.

• Crist came out early in his term and said that he supports restoration of Florida’s famous and important Everglades Ecosystem. Just last week, he and John McCain toured a part of the Everglades. McCain’s blogging daughter discouragingly confused the Everglades Safari Park for being Everglades National Park (in fairness, the Everglades is a huge area, and the distinction might be lost among most Americans as to which part is in the national park. Full disclosure: I used to work for Everglades National Park). The tour group traveled via airboats. They are rarely used in Everglades National Park because they, among other reasons, are thought by some to destroy sea grass. McCain also took some heat from reporters and also Barack Obama for having voted against a bill last year in the U.S. Senate to fund Everglades restoration. He claimed that he would have supported a bill for restoration if it had not included spending elements unrelated to the Everglades. Crist supported the bill, which eventually passed in Congress with a 2/3 majority. This majority was necessary to override a veto from President Bush. Nonetheless, when asked, Crist said that he believed McCain’s word when McCain said that he really did want to protect the Everglades. McCain also said that he does not support a federal catastrophe relief fund, angering Floridians who know well about the damage that hurricanes can create.

• Finally, John McCain recently has stirred up controversy and negative press by releasing an energy plan that would allow for the moratorium on drilling offshore for oil to be lifted (today President Bush said something like, “Great idea! Let’s start now!”) McCain and Bush’s reasoning is that this will allow Americans some relief at the gas pump, and less reliance on foreign oil. McCain at the time of his 2000 campaign for President had a different opinion and supported a ban. Governor Crist, trying to help defend his future potential running mate, has also reversed his own opinion on the matter. He used to oppose drilling offshore. Some people believe that drilling offshore might pollute Florida’s beaches, which are extremely important to the state’s tourism industry and economy.

So, what do these things tell us about Governor Crist’s level of credibility as a green advocate? My personal assessment is that so far he has shown himself through words and actions to be a true friend to the environment. However, the reversal of his position toward offshore drilling combined with his shrugging off of McCain’s negative vote toward the restoration of the Everglades reak of political opportunism. Such compromising of principle for political gain is disconcerting. Plus, drilling offshore for oil is an idea that I believe is a very bad one, and also utterly lacking in creativity as a method for lessening the burden of the energy crisis.

My guess is that ultimately McCain will chose Crist as his running mate. Florida’s Governor has proven himself a loyal soldier, and the McCain campaign will probably find Crist’s advantages as a wingman too hard to resist. Given Crist’s environmental record so far, this choice might be something to cheer. If McCain and Crist are to win the White House, perhaps they can outfit it with some new solar panels. I’d support my taxpayer dollars going to that. I’m not sure about heating the pool though– that seems a little bit extravagant (and who needs to heat a pool in Florida anyway?)

Read More about McCain’s Plan to Drill for Oil Offshore:

• McCain Calls for More Offshore Drilling: What Else Would He Say in Houston?
• Oil: Our National Dog and Pony Show

Photo Credit: fredthompson on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

The Sunshine Energy Solar Array was dedicated Monday by Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida Power & Light (FPL) officials. The facility is located on a former landfill in Sarasota County.

The Sunshine array is not only Florida’s largest, but the second largest in the entire Southeast U.S. The array of 1,200 solar panels covers more than 28,000 square feet of Rothenbach Park, and is expected to generate about 250 kilowatts of electricity.

That’s enough to power 55 homes and prevent the annual release of more than 654,000 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air, according to FPL.

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