In 2007, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) awarded Gilchrest with a meek environmental score of 60-percent. Low as it may be, consider that most of the GOP fails to even break the 20-percent mark by LCV standards. In fact, Gilchrest - who chairs the House Climate Change Caucus - has been snubbed by the GOP for perpetuating the human impact of climate change. He has also been a strong supporter for clean and renewable energy. So, maybe it comes as no surprise that he has turned and cut this ad for Kratovil:

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While some see the move as partisan-based mutiny, Gilchrest says of his somewhat Lieberman type move, “I love this place we call home,” and “It’s more important to me than partisanship.”

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But this bold move may just very well be a bad move for the environment she might end up overseeing if McSame McCain and Palin win the election in November.

Read more of this story »

Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president of the National Association of Evangelicals, has been leading a compaign to instill “creation care” as a religious imperative. He attended the forum and this was his exchange with Barack Obama:

REV. CIZIK: How do you relate your faith to science generally and science policy, and let’s take an issue like climate and flesh that out, or take stem cells, something like that. Just give us a little more indication of how you think.

OBAMA: Well, first of all…

CIZIK: Is that fair enough?

OBAMA: It is fair enough. And you guys have done some terrific work on this. So I want to congratulate you on that.

OBAMA: And should it be part of God’s plan to have me in the White House, I look forward to our collaboration. (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: So, look, the — one of the things I draw from the Genesis story is the importance of us being good stewards of the land, of this incredible gift. And I think there have been times where we haven’t been and this is one of those times where we’ve got to take the warning seriously.

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]]> http://sustainablog.org/2008/04/17/candidates-jump-through-the-hoops-of-religious-voters/feed/ http://gavinhudson.greenoptions.com/2007/10/30/the-5-best-presidential-candidates-to-address-climate-change/ http://gavinhudson.greenoptions.com/2007/10/30/the-5-best-presidential-candidates-to-address-climate-change/#comments Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:19:45 +0000 Gavin Hudson http://gavinhudson.greenoptions.com/2007/10/30/the-5-best-presidential-candidates-to-address-climate-change/ With all respect (and perhaps some thanks) to Mr. Gore, taking action on climate change is now a major political issue as well as a moral issue. This is particularly true for U.S. voters this year, who are trying to decide on their nation’s next president.

The successful presidential candidate will be responsible for leading his/her nation in reducing its carbon emissions, increasing its fuel efficiency standards, and developing its nascent clean energy industry. The president will also be charged with responding to parts of the country hit hard by climate change conditions, like droughts, fires, and storms.

Fortunately, voters won’t have to make their decision in the dark. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), a non-partisan organization that describes itself as "the independent political voice for the environment," has compiled a reference chart to show voters where candidates stand on climate change.

The following are the top five presidential candidates of 2008, based on the issue of climate change. In order to assess how serious candidates truly are about the issue of global warming, they are organized below according to how well they scored out of 100 on an overall evaluation of their environmental policies, starting with the highest scorer. (And no, Steven Colbert didn’t make the list, no matter how much natural gas he provides.)

Barack Obama (96) supports:

• 80% reductions of CO2 production by 2050.
• 50 mpg fleet-wide automotive standard by 2025.
• 25% renewable electrical energy standard by 2025.
• 50% reduction in energy intensity by 2030.
• Investing in liquid coal if it reduces carbon pollution by 10%; will consider standards that ban new conventional coal plants.

Dennis Kucinich (92) supports:

• 80% reductions of CO2 production by 2050.
• 40 mpg automotive standards; supported 33 mpg automotive standard in 2005.
• 20% renewable electrical energy standard by 2010.
• General energy efficiency, although he has no target specified.
• [Has no articulated position on new coal plants and liquid coal.]

Hillary Clinton (90) supports:

• 80% reductions of CO2 production by 2050.
• 35 mpg fleet-wide automotive standard by 2017.
• 20% renewable electrical energy standard by 2020.
• 10% reduction in energy consumption by 2020.
• Investing in liquid coal if it reduces carbon pollution by 20%.

Joe Biden (84) supports:

• 80% reductions of CO2 production by 2050.
• 40 mpg fleet-wide automotive standard by 2017.
• 20% renewable electrical energy standard by 2020.
• 10% reduction in energy consumption by 2020.
• Rejecting investment in liquid coal.

Bill Richardson (82) supports:

• 80% reductions of CO2 production by 2050.
• 50 mpg fleet-wide automotive standard.
• 30% renewable electrical energy standard by 2020 and 50% by 2050.
• 20% increase in energy productivity.
• A ban on new coal plants unless they capture and store emissions; he opposes liquid coal.

Readers may note that all of the preceding five leaders on environmental stewardship are members of the Democratic Party. They will be competing against one another to win their party’s nomination over the course of the primary elections, which will run from January to September of 2008. Make sure to register to vote several weeks prior to your state’s primary elections in order to vote to nominate your choice of presidential candidate.

Readers who align more closely with the Republican Party may also be interested to know which Republican presidential candidates are offering solutions to climate change. Most ‘08 Republican candidates have as strong a record of opposing environmental protection legislation and/or have no stated positions about the country’s energy goals and issues related to climate change. However, some Republican candidates are looking to support legislation that would benefit the climate. John McCain and Mike Huckabee lead their party on legislative forsight to address climate change. Even still, Mr. McCain has opposed fuel efficiency legislation and neither candidate has a stated position on coal. The only other candidate from this party to offer some hint of beneficial legislative promises on climate change is Mitt Romney, although he opposes fuel efficiency standards "as a stand alone measure," has no position on renewable energy, and supports liquid coal.

For more information on the positions of the 2008 presidential candidates on the environment, the energy industry, and climate change, see the resources listed below or visit the LCV reference chart for presidential candidates on climate change.

References and Resources:

Where the Candidates Currently Stand | League of Conservation Voters, Heatison.org

’08: On The Record | League of Conservation Voters

Presidential Candidates weigh in on Energy Policy | Solarnation

The Candidates | League of Conservation Voters, Heatison.org

Mike Garofalo’s Blog on the presidential candidates | GO

Photo Source:

White House Back | US Government

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