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

Apparently it’s not as easy to “Ask Mitt Anything” as one would hope.  FOTPC’s did not get a chance to ask Gov. Romney about global warming yesterday at a town hall meeting in Manchester.  Romney did briefly reference energy when he mentioned the need to get off of foreign oil, but that was the extent of his climate & energy related talk.

Strike one for TPC.

FOTPC’s had similar luck with John Edwards in Exeter and were not able to ask a climate change question.  Edwards even pleaded with the audience to ask a question about global warming during Q&A, but it was strike two.  Edwards had this to say in his stump:

“Global warming is a crisis by any possible measure.  Why have we not done anything about it?  Because of the oil companies, gas companies, and power companies and their incredible presence lobbying in DC.”

One FOTPC reported that after the event she asked Edwards if he would stop mountain top removal to which he answered yes.  The FOTPC shared this website and video with TPC about getting coal from mountains in Appalachia.

Look out for presidential candidates at Step It Up events this weekend.  Sen. Dodd will be attending an event in Concord and Sen. Gravel will be in Manchester!

CBS News reported today that “Children may be especially vulnerable to the effects of global warming” according to The American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP).  An AAP news release states that ”Children are often most vulnerable to adverse health effects from environmental hazards because they are not fully developed physically and psychologically.”

According to the news release, the AAP has concluded both a technical report and a policy statement to outline how climate change impacts child health.  AAP is asking pediatricians to understand the threats climate change poses for children and advocate for strategies that will lessen the effects.

Chair of the AAP Committee on Environmental Health, Dr. Helen J. Binns, stated that “This is a call for us to look at how climate change may be impacted by what we do as an organization, what we do in our personal business and what we do in our home life.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics, which is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians and pediatric specialists, are being advised “to advocate and support policies that strengthen public transportation, expand green spaces and reward energy efficiency.”

It is clear that climate change is an issue for more than just environmentally-minded voters.  Any presidential candidate who is concerned about child health and American family values must take into consideration how climate change is impacting America’s children and families. 

Gov. Romney couldn’t hide from FOTPC’s yesterday who wanted to know more about his plan to combat climate change. 

At a house party in Hooksett, Romney was first asked how he will get us off foreign oil.  Romney gave a familiar answer concerning the importance of pursuing energy independence through two ways: alternative energy sources (nuclear, liquefied coal, clean-burning coal, renewable resources and domestic oil) and increased efficiency in our cars, homes and businesses. 

Unsatisfied with his answer, an FOTPC followed up with her concern that Romney is falling behind some of his Republican contenders on the issue of climate change.  The FOTPC asked Romney if he would also support a cap on carbon emissions (as McCain and Huckabee have) and how he would focus on the renewable technologies in an effort to combat global warming. 

Romney first noted his “plan to get us energy independent has a very positive by-product and that is it dramatically reduces greenhouse gases.”  He then criticized the idea of the United States unilaterally placing limits on CO2 emissions and emphasized that we need to do it “in conjuncture with other nations” in order to protect the American economy.  Romney reminded the audience, using a favorite phrase, that “they don’t call in America Warming, they call it Global Warming.”

A couple hours later, Romney gave a very similar answer to a group of high school students in Exeter.  One Exeter student asked Romney why he opted out “one of the most ambitious efforts to fight global warming” in 2005 when he chose not to take part in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).  In response, Romney couldn’t resist adding to his favorite phrase saying that “they don’t even call it New England Warming” and stating that an effort to control emissions in New England wouldn’t have a significant effect on the world environment.

Once again, Romney voiced concern about the economic impact of a regional or national cap on carbon for energy consumers and emphasized that the way to seriously combat global warming is through energy efficiency and investment in cleaner technologies.  Romney then returned to the question of a cap stating ”that, I would pursue on a global basis with other nations” noting that he wants “something that works for the whole world.” 

With Kyoto set to expire in 2012, could Romney be the one to lead a new global initiative??

The Exeter student who asked the question, Alex Chen, did not seem so optimistic stating that Romney’s remarks “were adequate in some ways but still a little vague.”  Chen told TPC that he sees a difference between energy independence and environmental sustainability and hoped to hear more about how Romney would pursue moving toward cleaner technologies and renewable energy resources.  Overall, Chen told TPC, ”I was not the most impressed.”

Listen to the audio: Romney in Hooksett Romney in Exeter

Just days after formally filing for the NH Primary, Barack Obama spoke to a packed gymnasium in Dover.  TPC was in Portsmouth just three weeks ago to hear Obama announce the second installment of his Climate and Energy policy.  Obama claimed to have the most aggressive emissions reduction plan that would create billions of dollars for the development of alternative energy.

Obama criticized our current energy policy by telling some timely jokes:  “Now obviously it doesn’t help when you put my cousin, Dick Cheney in charge of energy,” joked Obama, reffering to the recent news that in fact Cheney and Obama are distant cousins. 

After the crowd’s laughter and applause subsided, Obama criticized Cheney for meeting with the oil and gas companies 40 times and the environmental groups only once when developing a national energy policy.  I guess blood is not thicker than water in the primary season.

Responding to a question about poverty, Obama put a positive spin on the economic opportunities provided by a transition to alternative energy.  He brought the issue home to New Hampshire when he stated:

“There are people up in the North Country where there are all these former mills.  We could harness the energy of wood chips to create alternative fuels.  They are already developing that.  If you could suddenly put all of those mills back on line, you would be producing energy right here in the United States that is clean and ends up freeing our dependence on foreign oil.”

Obama stressed that “the next president can’t just tell you what you want to hear, he has got to tell you what you need to hear,” but there was actually little within Obama’s energy talk that would have upset the majority of the American public outside of Detroit.  His only references to any kind of American ”sacrifice” concerned a call for conservation, a push for a renewable energy standard and the need to reduce oil consumption to keep the price of gas down.

Listen to Obama’s energy quotes in Dover: 1) Cheney Joke  2) Policy Description  3) Economic Opportunity