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

Senator John McCain campaigned up North this weekend and a few FOTPCs were there to ask him about his climate plans.  In Hanover, McCain once again included global warming in his stump speech to a crowd spotted with ’stop global warming’ stickers.

McCain also received a question from a teacher concerned with the “3-Cs” of climate change - crude oil, climate change, and China.  McCain responded by stressing the need for more nuclear power, new energy solutions, and international action.

In Dixville Notch, McCain again touted nuclear power as his approach to combat climate change and stressed the importance of research and development into new energy sources.  McCain also noted the importance of a bipartisan approach on climate change policy stating “I can reach across the aisle and work with the Democrats.”   

Before leaving, a FOTPC asked McCain about the upcoming climate summit in New Hampshire sponsored by Arnold Schwarzenegger and McCain responded by saying that he “never refuses the Terminator.”  So far McCain is the only candidate confirmed for the NH climate change summit.  No further details have been released regarding the event since Thursday.

Three Democrats participated this weekend in the first debate dedicated solely to climate change and energy issues.  The debate organizers invited the sixteen major candidates, but only Dennis Kucinich, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton took the stage in Los Angeles for the debate.   The candidates spoke at different times to discuss their climate and energy platforms before taking questions from a knowledgeable audience.

Clinton first cited the major points of her climate change plan, Strategic Energy Fund, 80% by 2050, etc.  Clinton then offered the activist crowd a thought to take away from the forum: “There is no way that we will ever produce a piece of legislation that will get through the Congress that every one of you will agree with.”  She explained that she realized this after her failed attempt at healthcare reform as First Lady.

Edwards countered Clinton’s advice by stating “We have to ask ourselves a basic question: Are we willing to put political calculation aside and actually stand up with a little backbone for what’s right? Are we willing to say that the time for compromise and half-measures is over?”  Edwards also laid out many of his familiar policy positions for emissions reductions and creating new technologies.

The NY Times reported that Kucinich called for an abolishment of nuclear weapons and stated that environmental principles need to be worked into trade agreements.  Kucinich also noted his support for the United States rejoining the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement that limits the emissions of greenhouse gases from most industrialized countries.

Read more about the debate in the LA Times review.

The Democrats gathered last night in Las Vegas for another debate.  Once again, the cable network host du jour guided a debate more focused on candidate in-fighting than important issues like climate change.  CNN’s tragic tabloid coverage only allowed two of the seven candidates to discuss climate change.

Barack Obama and Bill Richardson were the only participants asked about energy related issues, specifically Nevada’s nuclear waste storage facility Yucca Mountain.  Read the entire transcript.

Obama made clear that he did not support Yucca Mountain and affirmed that nuclear is not our best energy option, but it has to be “part of our energy mix.”  Obama turned his attention to climate change and emissions reduction:

“We have a genuine crisis that has to be addressed and as president, I intend to address it, and here’s what we have to do. We have to, first of all, cap greenhouse gases, because climate change is real. And it’s going to impact Nevada and it’s impacting the entire planet.  That means that we’re going to have to tell polluters, we are going to charge you money when you send pollution into the air, that’s creating climate change. That money we can then reinvest in solar, in wind, in biodiesel, in clean coal technology and in superior nuclear technology.”

Moderator Wolf Blitzer followed up and pressured Obama on what he would do with nuclear waste assuming there is no scientific breakthrough for superior nuclear technology.

“Well, right now it is on site in many situations, and that is not the optimal situation, Wolf.”  Obama countered, “But don’t keep on assuming that we can’t do something. I mean, this is about the third time where you said, ‘assuming we can’t do it, what’s our option?’  Well, but I’m running for president because I think we can do it.”

Watch Obama’s response.

“Wolf, Wolf” inturupted Bill Richardson trying to get into the energy discussion near the end of Obama’s response.  Blitzer turned to Richardson with the Yucca Mountain question.  Richardson stated: “First, the future is renewable. It’s not oil, it’s not coal, it’s not nuclear.”  He assured the Nevada crowd that he was against Yucca Mountain as Energy Secretary and he is against Yucca Mountain as a presidential candidate.

Richardson took a minute to discuss his climate and energy plan: 

“There’s a technological solution, a scientific solution. What I would do, I would turn Yucca Mountain into a national laboratory. We have the greatest brains, our national lab scientists. We need to find a way to safely dispose of nuclear waste. There is a technological solution.

But while we do that, we shouldn’t be giving the nuclear power industry all of these advantages in the Senate bills that are coming forth, or subsidies. Oil, coal and nuclear are getting most of the subsidies.

We need an energy revolution in this country — to shift from fossil fuels to renewable sources by 50 percent by the year 2020. Eighty percent reduction of greenhouse emissions, a mandate.  We need to have 30 percent of our electricity renewable.

And it’s got to be also the American people — I’m going to say this honestly — sacrificing a little bit when it comes to appliances — and when it comes to being part of an energy efficiency revolution.”

Just as the climate discussion was heating up CNN’s Campbell Brown like totally changed course to question Senator Clinton about the ’boys club’ drama. 

SPOILER ALERT :)

Great news for NH citizens concerned with climate change!

The AP reported this afternoon that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Vice President Al Gore are planning a bipartisan presidential forum on energy and climate change in New Hampshire in December.

The forum is still being planned but Adam Mendelsohn, the communications director for the governor stated that Gore was handling the Democratic candidates and Schwarzenegger was handling the Republicans.

In Sacramento, Senator John McCain stated that he had agreed to attend and expressed his concern that climate change was not being discussed enough by either party.

Stay tuned for more details.

Below are three sample videos that the Carbon Coalition is submitting for the GOP CNN/Youtube debate scheduled for November 28th.  Submit your climate change question here.

Submit your climate change question here.