As described by the press release, the BLM would require about 22 months to produce the necessary studies to complete the PEIS. During that time, the Bureau would seek public comment, focus on the impacts that would result from the development of 125 applications it has in hand already, defer any new applications, and create a framework for approaches that would best allow the Bureau to mitigate the effects of an expected continued flow of applications after that study period.

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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

Now, On Day One is honing-in on the critical environmental issues of today in an upcoming five-day online debate co-sponsored with Grist.org’’s Gristmill, and UN Dispatch. And I am excited that I’ve been invited, along with Dave Roberts and Kate Sheppard from Grist, Nigel Purvis from the Brookings Institute and Resources for the Future, to be one of four online panelists invited to debate and discuss the user-submitted ideas - one idea a day throughout the week.

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Regardless of who is elected next November, both candidates agree that climate change is a fact and not a theory. “I know that climate change is real,” said John McCain. “We can have a debate about how serious it is, but the debate about climate change is over.”

McCain and Obama however vary widely in their response to this issue, leaving the American people with a choice of approaches when choosing the next president. McCain’s primary weapons in this battle includes implementing a cap and trade system for emissions and utilizing greater amounts of nuclear power.

Cap and Trade

“Cap and trade is being implemented in Europe and they have stumbled and they’ve had problems but it is still the right thing to do,” said John McCain. “It is what we did in relation to acid rain.”

One of the reasons McCain supports this approach is because it encourages the market to respond with the lowest cost approach. He believes the market will correct itself with the use of cleaner technologies without the need for intervention, such as a tax credit or major investment from the government.

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The American political season is now in full swing, and with Barack Obama finally securing the nomination for Democratic Presidential nominee, the games can really begin to heat up. One of the big topics – alongside or just underneath the economy – will be the environment, and how to best preserve it (or resurrect it after George W. Bush is finished with it).

And, not surprisingly, a lot of the end results being pitched by Senator Obama and Senator John McSame McCain are looking mighty similar. However how they want to get there are bipolar at best.

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Now that we seem to have a Democratic candidate, we all need to be digging into the environmental views and policy plans of Senators Obama and McCain.

To help us sort it out, Reuters has published a featured called FACTBOX: U.S. Presidential Candidates on the Environment and Energy. It’s a good piece and we encourage you to read it. Here are some highlights:

On Climate Change

• Obama would cut carbon dioxide emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and require fuel suppliers to cut carbon content by 10 percent by 2020.
• McCain favors a cap-and-trade approach to carbon emissions. He sponsored legislation in 2007 to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2050.

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Shortly after last week’s primaries, Obama stated:

I think the way we have run this war in Iraq has lessened our ability to move our allies. It has led us to ignore the critical needs for us to focus on a sound energy policy in this country. It has left us unable to lead on critical global issues like global warming. And it has led us to neglect what ultimately is the most important thing to keeping America safe, and that is having an economy that is the envy of the world and that gives us the resources and the power to project ourselves around the world.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/05/14/obama-blame-the-iraq-war-for-lack-of-us-climate-change-leadership/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/30/obamas-new-ad-in-carolina-rejects-gas-tax-holliday/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/30/obamas-new-ad-in-carolina-rejects-gas-tax-holliday/#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 03:21:36 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/30/obamas-new-ad-in-carolina-rejects-gas-tax-holliday/ In a recent post, my colleague Jennifer Lance asked whether Hillary Clinton can take on big oil. Among other things, Jennifer concluded that despite the good intentions of Senator Clinton,”A gas tax holiday will not solve the problem of peak oil.” And that is exactly the same message the Obama campaign wants to deliver in an ad now running in North Carolina ahead of next Tuesday’s primary.

The commercial denounces the proposed gas-tax cut, a proposal which Senators Clinton and McCain both support, as the type of quick-fix policy solution that is emblematic of Washington politics. Running time: 1 min.

This story contains additional media. Click here to view the media.

See Also:

“Can Hillary Clinton Take On Big Oil?”

“Video: Obama on Climate and Energy”

“Clinton Takes Jabs at Obama’s Energy Policy”

• 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

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/30/obamas-new-ad-in-carolina-rejects-gas-tax-holliday/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/30/can-hillary-clinton-take-on-big-oil/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/30/can-hillary-clinton-take-on-big-oil/#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:19:32 +0000 Jennifer Lance http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/30/can-hillary-clinton-take-on-big-oil/ Americans are feeling the pain of high gas prices; I just paid $4.20 a gallon at the pump in northern California. Needless to say, the presidential candidates are scrambling to be the savior of the gas guzzling voter. Both McCain and Clinton support suspending federal excise tax on gasoline and diesel fuel over the summer, but is this the right solution? Barack Obama disagrees, and I can’t help but think this is a band-aid solution.

The federal excise tax on gasoline was first implemented in 1932, although the states began taxing fuel in 1919. It is estimated that suspending this tax, as proposed by Clinto and McCain, would result in a loss of revenue of nine billion dollars for the Highway Trust Fund, which is used for interstate maintenance. McCain says he would shift revenue from other sources, and Clinton proposes enacting windfall-profits tax on big oil companies to make up for the loss. Both candidates are making Obama look like the bad guy for not wanting to save consumers 18 cents per gallon, but would this temporary suspension of the federal excise tax on gasoline really be the catalyst to change our current oil dependency and the harm it causes to the environment?

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/30/can-hillary-clinton-take-on-big-oil/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/29/white-house-signals-farm-bill-veto-will-congress-bend/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/29/white-house-signals-farm-bill-veto-will-congress-bend/#comments Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:47:22 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/29/white-house-signals-farm-bill-veto-will-congress-bend/ Word has it that the farm bill congressional conferees hammered out at the end of last week would most likely be vetoed by President Bush. The ink has not dried on the agreement, and that is why Congress had to pass an extension of the existing farm bill last week. The extension gives lawmakers until May 2, when they must either pass another stopgap measure or resort to the permanent 1949 agriculture law, if a new bill is not completed.

According to Ryan Grimm at Politico.com, when asked what the President would do if the current iteration of the farm bill made its way to the President’s desk White House spokesman Scott Stanzel replied, “as it stands now, it is not something the president would support.” Stanzel wrote in an email:

“The proposal before Congress would dramatically increase spending, in part by masking additional spending in budgetary gimmicks and accounting tricks.”

Farm bills pass - that’s what they do

Despite the threat, there may be enough Congressional support to override the veto. According to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN), “If the White House is stupid enough to veto this, they’re going to get overridden.”

The farm bill is a very popular funding mechanism for Congressional spending. Every state’s congressional delegation works extremely hard to get their slice of the agricultural pie - not doing so does not bode well in the eyes of powerful ag interests and the voters of agricultural states. In short, farm bills do not get vetoed. At least very rarely do they get vetoed - there are a few exceptions.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/29/white-house-signals-farm-bill-veto-will-congress-bend/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/15/could-action-on-climate-change-really-be-bush-legacy/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/15/could-action-on-climate-change-really-be-bush-legacy/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:31:06 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/15/could-action-on-climate-change-really-be-bush-legacy/

For Teddy Roosevelt it was the creation of our system of National Parks. For Richard Nixon it was the passage of landmark environmental reforms found in the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. For Bill Clinton it was an eleventh-hour preservation of millions of acres of public lands. For George W. Bush it will be tackling the issues of global warming and climate change.

huh?

In light of my recent post about the demoralizing effect this administration has had upon EPA scientists and other agency ‘lifers’, I was more than just a little surprised to hear about the story leaked in Monday’s Washington Times that reports President Bush is “poised to change course and announce as early as this week that he wants Congress to pass a bill to combat global warming, and will lay out principles for what that should include.”

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino declined on Monday to confirm rumors that action was imminent, though she would not rule it out. She said the administration’s discussions are building toward an expected debate on climate change in the Senate in June [watch video of White House press conference here].

If President George W. Bush throws his support behind mandatory carbon dioxide regulations, it would indeed be a major shift away from his insistence that placing binding caps on emissions would harm the U.S. economy.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/15/could-action-on-climate-change-really-be-bush-legacy/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/14/bush-just-says-no-to-science/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/14/bush-just-says-no-to-science/#comments Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:15:49 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/14/bush-just-says-no-to-science/ Over the last 7 years, the current administration has meddled with the affairs of the Environmental Protection Agency to such a degree, that the badgering and tampering is having a detrimental effect on the morale of agency staffers. And the latest news that EPA officials have ceased their efforts to follow a Supreme Court order to propose regulations for carbon dioxide emissions from automobile tailpipes is, yet another, in a long list of examples where the Bush administration has overstepped its legal boundaries and asserted its political will in matters where it shouldn’t.

Even though EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson agreed with the court’s findings and proposed motor vehicle regulation to the Department of Transportation back in December, the agency has not evaluated dangers nor proposed any regulations - and is not expected to.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/14/bush-just-says-no-to-science/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/03/tangled-up-in-blue-the-3-am-call-that-didnt-get-through/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/03/tangled-up-in-blue-the-3-am-call-that-didnt-get-through/#comments Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:15:43 +0000 Ranjit Arab http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/03/tangled-up-in-blue-the-3-am-call-that-didnt-get-through/ It looks like Hillary Clinton has another “3 a.m.” political ad out. This time it’s about the economy.

I’m not sure what it is about these ads that have captured the nation’s imagination; John McCain has his own version of it, and, of course, it inspired scores of parodies on YouTube and among late-night talk show comedians.

Still, I wonder if the candidates will get around to making one of these ads about the environment.

It’d be really easy to do, actually. All you need is a ringing phone…and no one to answer it.

That’s because the environment has somehow become a non-issue during this campaign season. All three candidates have fairly progressive views when it comes to addressing climate change, and they all tout the benefits of weening ourselves off foreign oil, so we’ve basically been told by the media that there’s nothing more to discuss on the topic.

The only problem is that voters WANT to discuss it.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/04/03/tangled-up-in-blue-the-3-am-call-that-didnt-get-through/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/24/president-albert-gore-jr-in-a-parallel-universe/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/24/president-albert-gore-jr-in-a-parallel-universe/#comments Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:40:46 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/24/president-albert-gore-jr-in-a-parallel-universe/ Very funny video clip from Saturday Night Live showing Al Gore giving a Presidential address. One of the best lines is when he says that there is no need to worry about hurricanes and tornadoes because of the “anti-hurricane and tornado machine I was instrumental in helping to develop.”

This story contains additional media. Click here to view the media.

• 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

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/03/24/president-albert-gore-jr-in-a-parallel-universe/feed/