The Political Climate: an ongoing commentary on the NH Primary and Climate Change

Howdy yall.  FOTPCs had John Edwards’ post debate “Economic Fairness and Bluegrass Tour” covered yesterday from Durham to Conway, MTV and the World Wide Web.  The day began at UNH with exuberant students filing into Myspace/MTV’s made for TV forum with Edwards.  The forum was broadcasted both over the web and into the living rooms of our nation’s youth.  That’s right, America’s youngsters had to take one hour off from Lauren and Jason, Heidi and Spencer, and Chrissy and Clay to listen to the former senator. 

MTV’s James Montgomery talked to sophomore Shannon O’Brien who is majoring in environmental studies and was anxious to hear Edwards talk about climate change.  Shannon told MTV that climate change is “an issue that’ll certainly play throughout the campaign, and it’s one that’s on people’s minds, but I’m hoping he won’t just pay it lip service.”

To no surprise, a UNH student did ask Edwards about the environment offering Edwards an opportunity to give a familiar overview of his climate change plan:  Cap and trade; 80% by 2050; no new coal unless the carbon is sequestered; no new nuclear; green jobs; and of course his favorite campaign slogan “It’s time for America to be patriotic about something other than war.”  Watch Edwards speak on climate change.

A few hours later, Edwards moved down the street to his ‘Economic Fairness Forum’  where he provided more comprehensive details about his climate plan, but only after the crowd was primed with some toe tappin’, hootin’ and hollerin,’ banjoin’ bluegrass!

Edwards spoke on the potential economic opportunities available to rural communities through the transition from a carbon based economy to a green economy:

“We can use this transition.  For example, we are going to have to build the factories, which puts construction workers to work.  We’re going to have to make the products that will be used in a green economy, including the machinery.”

“I think that at the high school level we ought to create green academies, so that the young people understand the economic opportunity available to them, and have to start to develop some of the skills to be able to do that.  I think that the federal government can help finance that.  The federal government should also be working in partnerships with community colleges, labor unions and local groups to train those, who in fact are in the work force, to be prepared to do these green economy jobs.”

An FOTPC also caught up with Edwards in Conway last night and reported that he responded to a question about wind power by again discussing his pledge for no more nuclear and no new coal without carbon capture.  Read more from up north at the Daily Kos.

Listen to audio of Edwards speaking about green jobs at UNH.

Once again, climate change was not an issue at the Democratic debate at Dartmouth last night.  As one FOTPC put it in an e-mail we received this morning, “Did I miss something or was there no global warming discussion other than the self-immolation question of $10/gallon gasoline?” 

There has been an odd pattern of omitting questions about global warming in all of the debates so far.  We’ve heard all of the candidates talk about the issue at their campaign stops, but have yet to see it be part of a national debate - what’s the deal?! 

Even NH political expert and UNH professor Dante Scala commented on The Exchange this morning that “If you have time to talk about the Red Sox, I know they are important, but why not talk about things like global warming.”  NHIOP Senior Advisor Jennifer Donahue also commented to a green party caller that “If things continue to remain only on a few issues, and they don’t go further and we don’t discuss global warming and we don’t discuss the environment, there are going to be a lot of people like Zeek out there who decide that this is a race with no green in it.”

It’s difficult to say who’s to blame for the lack of discussion on global warming at the debates, but the fact remains that NH voters who are concerned about climate change have yet to hear the candidates formally debate or communicate their priorities on the issue.  It is even more disconcerting when we consider that last night was most likely the last debate to take place in NH before the primary. 

Rachel Courtney of Dublin NH, shared her concerns about this last week in a letter to the Keene Sentinel.  Rachel also noted that it’s not too late to hear from the candidates and that all of the Democratic and Republican potential nominees have been invited to communicate their priorities about climate change at the Global Warming & Energy Solutions conference this October.

An op-ed from The Dallas Morning News yesterday commented on President Bush’s absence from the UN Climate Change discussions the other day saying that “The president’s unwillingness to join the debate is disappointing. And it sends a dangerous message, providing cover for other countries reluctant to take action.” 

The op-ed notes that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice assured that the U.S. “takes this challenge very seriously.”  The author commented that the president can back that up by participating in future negotiations.  Similarly, if the presidential candidates are going to take the challenge seriously, they must also participate in the discussion and communicate their priorities on climate change action.

Over seventy people and fifteen energy committees attended last night’s first ever Rockingham/Strafford Energy Committee Alliance workshop.  This regional alliance aims to facilitate the sharing of information, skills, and experience between the various energy committees in the Seacoast and is a model that could aid burgeoning local energy committees all over the Granite State.

The most promising sign of the night was the energy committees in attendance that the alliance organizers and the Carbon Coalition did not even know existed.  This speaks to the grassroots nature of the emerging climate movement in New Hampshire.  It is a sign that the local energy committees are growing beyond our reach and will continue to spread across the state. 

Clay Mitchell discussed how to conduct a simple energy audit of a town building.  It was interesting to see how many simple, cost-effective measures are available to ensure energy and emissions savings for municipal buildings.  Mitchell included a picture of one window in Epping Town Hall that even in a closed position allowed a full grown arm to reach outside into the cold.  Hmm…why is our heating bill so high?  Mitchell also shared a few web-tools that help to set benchmarks like the EPA Portfolio Manager, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, RETscreen International, and the EPA Combined Heat and Power Partnership.

Obama and Richardson campaign staff members attended the workshop to see the local action first hand before heading up Hanover for the debate.  Hopefully, the workshop’s message makes its way up the chain and the candidates recognize that the effort and sacrifice going into these committees is a true representation of the dedication that NH citizens have for the climate.

For more information about these committees, visit the Local Energy Committee page of our website.

Last Friday, Republican leaders from 16 western states gathered at the Republican National Committee’s Western Leadership Conference.  Speaking to the group was Jill Buck, a former Republican Assembly candidate, who encouraged that “there is a way for Republicans to be environmentalists and keep their core Republican principles.” 

Buck emphasized the need to “find common ground” on climate change solutions noting that “we might differ with Democrats on how to go about it, but we should all be working together.”

The San Diego Union Tribune reported that Gov. Schwarzenegger echoed Buck’s message and encouraged that the Republican candidates could win in 2008 if they speak up and take leadership on important issues like climate change.  Schwarzenegger commented on how leadership on climate change could appeal to the independent vote noting that “there are millions and millions of swing voters out there and independents… and I think what we have to do is go out there and welcome those independents in.”

According to the Contra Costa Times, Buck and Schwarzenegger are part of a long tradition of Republican leadership on environmental issues.  The article cites the efforts of both Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon to promote conservation and environmental protection. 

Last April, NH Executive Councilor Ray Burton expressed similar thoughts in an op-ed piece titled “Community Commentary: Republicans need to address climate change.” 

Burton, who is a longtime member of the Executive Council and represents the citizens living in over half of the state, wrote that “Conservation and environmental protection has moved away from its image of being a movement of the political left and has once again entered mainstream consciousness.”

Burton noted that “It is a mistake to view climate change, or conservation issues in general, through a partisan lens” and cited recent poll research showing that over 70 percent of Republican primary voters see global warming as a serious threat and that an overwhelming 82 percent of Republican primary voters favor taking action now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  He concluded that “In New Hampshire, the call for action on climate change is clearly not a partisan debate.”

The presidential candidates know very well that NH and California are two key states in the upcoming election season.  It would be a wise move for the Republican candidates to listen to these Republican leaders and seriously address the issue of climate change with a comprehensive plan.