The Green Miles Analyzes the Presidential Debate on CleanSkies.TV

The Green Miles was on CleanSkies.TV this morning talking about energy issues in last night's presidential debate. To watch, go to CleanSkies.TV, click on "Energy News Center" and click on "10/8/08 - The Morning Report." I'll write up more thoughts on the debate a little later.

Ask The Green Miles: McCain vs. Obama on the Environment

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Palin on Polar Bears: "Grossly Misinformed or Intentionally Misleading"

John McCain has been distancing himself from his previous championing of climate action as he tries to appeal to conservatives. Well, he's certainly keeping that theme with his vice presidential pick.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been a champion of a different fight -- the one to try to keep the polar bear from being protected by the Endangered Species Act:

"She's either grossly misinformed or intentionally misleading, and both are unbecoming," said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity. "Alaska deserves better."

Siegel said it was unconscionable for Palin to ignore overwhelming evidence of global warming's threat to sea ice, the polar bear's habitat.

"Even the Bush administration can't deny the reality of global warming," she said. "The governor is aligning herself and the state of Alaska with the most discredited, fringe, extreme viewpoints by denying this."

With this pick, McCain has completely turned his back on his past leadership on global warming.

UPDATE 1:47pm - Much more on Palin's sorry environmental record over at Gristmill.

UPDATE 2:13pm - Palin today tells a conservative website she doesn't believe scientists who say global warming is man-made.

Green Crystal Ball: Previewing the VP Contenders

UPDATE: It's Biden.

Rumor has it Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama will announce his vice presidential pick today or tomorrow. Greenpeace has a roundup of the climate, energy, and environmental records of the leading contenders.

The candidates are clearly divided into two tiers. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden have solid environmental resumes. Gov. Sebelius took a bold stand against new coal-fired power plants. Sen. Biden has an exceptionally strong record on clean energy and climate change issues in the Senate.

Meanhile, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh have been marginal at best -- and at worst, outright climate action foot-draggers.

When judging Democrats on the environment, it's critical to go beyond rhetoric. At this point all Democrats (and many Republicans) agree global warming is happening, man-made emissions are to blame, and we need to take action. But some Democrats like Kaine and Bayh shy away when it comes to setting targets. Here's Kaine at a recent the Southern Governors' Association meeting:

[I]n an acknowledgement of the political climate and the difficulties in building consensus, Kaine's initiative did not take the bigger step of proposing timetables and goals for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, or phasing in new technology or conservation regulation in the energy industry.

"I don't think you start with a goal," the governor said in an interview. "I think you start with a process in which you come up with goals and strategies to meet the goals.

"I would very much hope that goals would emerge, measurable goals, targets that we're going to try to hit," Kaine said.

We don't need process. We don't need discussion. We need action. And action doesn't mean more mushy talk about some future breakthrough that might make less-dirty coal not only technologically feasible but affordable. I invite Bayh and Kaine to start holding their breath.

Over on the GOP side, I'm guessing Greenpeace will release their look at leading VP contenders closer to Friday the 29th, when Republican nominee John McCain is expected to announce his running mate. But that doesn't mean The Green Miles can't take his own sneak peek now:

• Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman has been one of the nation's leading champions of strong climate action, most recently serving as lead co-sponsor of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (PDF). Whatever you think of his politics or personality, if Al Gore wants you to be his running mate, it means you're as strong as it gets on real climate solutions.
  
  
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has signed legislation setting a 25% renewable energy standard for his state by 2025. He introduced a carbon emissions reduction proposal before the National Governors Association, but Robert Novak and Tim Carney reported it "was shot down by bipartisan opposition from the coal-oil bloc of governors."
  
  
• It's hard to get a read on former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge. He supported voluntary efforts to confront climate change, but then again, left the governor's mansion before global warming became front-and-center in the national debate.
  
  
• Then there's Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Jindal opposes climate action, but it's nothing personal -- if you think the Bush administration is waging war on science, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Jindal is perhaps best known for signing a bill allowing local school boards to teach non-science theories on a wide range of scientific issues, from evolution to global warming. While serving in the U.S. House, Jindal garnered a dismal seven percent lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters and received some of the lowest scores in Congress from Republicans for Environmental Protection. Given McCain's moderate positions on science issues, I can't imagine him selecting Batshit Insane Bobby.

Who would you like to see Obama and McCain select?

Obama Shreds McCain's Drill-and-Burn Energy Plans

What position will help John McCain get elected president today? Well that's the one he'll take. And if the political winds shift tomorrow, he'll shift right along with them.

How else to explain his always-changing positions? McCain used to be for climate action; now his advisers are saying he's against it. McCain used to be against the Bush tax cuts, now he's for them. In fact, Crooks and Liars detailed ten McCain flip-flops in June alone.

Since he has no principled positions to run on, John McCain has created a campaign that would make Karl Rove proud, running ads tying Barack Obama to young blond girls, questioning his patriotism, and trying to link him to terrorists.

So is Obama responding by getting down in the dirt? Nope. He's hitting McCain where it hurts -- on substance:



Check out the campaign's new page, Environmentalists for Obama.

McCain Staff: Oil Drilling 'The Right Thing for the Environment'

From the White House to Congress, Republicans are pushing to open more of America's public lands and waters to Big Oil, letting them drill for more fossil fuels to help keep America addicted.

I've heard lots of outlandish arguments from drilling proponents, particularly Rep. Michele Bachmann. She's falsely claimed that drilling would cut gas prices in half (even the Bush administration admits it would cut prices a few cents at most) and that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is as lifeless as the surface of the Moon (the threatened polar bears that live there would beg to differ).

But John McCain's senior policy advisers Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Nancy Pfotenhauer might take the cake:

"This [offshore drilling] is the right thing for the economy, it is the right thing for national security. And, as [McCain] is always committed to pursuing these endeavors in an environmentally friendly way, it's the right thing for the environment in the long run as well," said Holtz-Eakin. [...]

Pfotenhauer argued that yesterday's [Mississippi River oil] spill wasn't at all related to drilling -- even though one would assume the 420,000 gallons of fuel oil that were dumped into the river had to come out of the ground somehow.

Drilling comes with enormous risk of spills (like this week's) and disturbs surrounding wildlife. And what does Holtz-Eakin think we're going to do with that oil once it's out of the ground? Use it to grease our bike wheels as we toot around town in a carbon-free manner? Every gallon of gas produced will turn into 20 pounds of global warming pollution when burned.

Of course, if we'd raised gas taxes as economists like Robert Samuelson has been arguing for years, the money we're paying at the pump could be going to fix our failing roads and bridges. But instead, friends of oil companies fought to keep gas taxes low as prices climbed. Doesn't it looks silly now that people were claiming at $2 a gallon we couldn't raise gas taxes because it would break the backs of working people? Now we're at $4+ and still rising. Great plan, guys.

So now we have the worst of both worlds -- high prices at the pump and virtually all of our money going straight to Big Oil. Isn't it time to abandon our drill-and-burn policies and start encouraging some alternatives?

Daily Show: McCain Submits to Higher Power - ExxonMobil

Another Primary, Another Month of Media Ignoring Climate Change

The Pennsylvania presidential primary has come and gone, and still the media refuses to talk about global warming.

It's especially puzzling because while the media delights in meaningless "gotchas," George Stephanopoulos passed on a prime chance to "get" presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. Back in February, McCain was on ABC's This Week and had this exchange with Stephanopoulos:

STEPHANOPOULOS: How about on the issue of climate change? Because you and Sen. [Joe] Lieberman [I-Conn.] have come out for a bill which would have mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases.

MCCAIN: Gradual reductions, yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But they are mandatory.

MCCAIN: Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Are you sticking by that?

MCCAIN: What I mean by that is that it's cap-and-trade, that there will be incentives for people to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It's a free-market approach. The Europeans are using it now. We did it in the case of addressing acid rain -- look, if we do that, we stimulate green technologies. I have great faith in the American industry. General Electric, the world's largest corporation, has announced they're dedicated to green technologies. This will be profit-making business.

It won't cost the American taxpayer. It will make profits, because we'll move forward with the innovation and ability of American industry to address this issue.

But now McCain has changed his position. He says he'll only support the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act if massive new subsidies for nuclear power are added. If he sticks by that position, he might as well oppose the bill entirely, because if costly nuclear subsidies are added, many Democrats will vote against the legislation.

So McCain is trying to take credit for supporting climate action, but only with amendments that would be fatal to its passage. Sounds like a prime opportunity for a "gotcha," right?

Nope. McCain was on This Week again on April 20th and climate change didn't even come up.

Time magazine has a more comprehensive look at the politics of climate legislation.

GoGreenMan Hosts Summit Meetings with Presidential Candidates

Over at GoGreenMan, Jonathan interviews the presidential candidates and rates them on their environmental views and kindness to children. His two top-rated candidates? John McCain and Barack Obama - one his party's nominee, the other his party's current front runner. If only CNN had analysts with that kind of skill!

CNN: Global Warming "a Largely Unscientific Hoax"

The Green Miles' roommate, while liberal, tends not to be overtly political. He's a journalist, so he see things more in shades of gray than black and white. Also, he's not overtly anything. It's just not his style.

So when he burst into the living room in anger after he overheard Mary Matalin on CNN, she must have said something pretty outrageous:

BLITZER: (reading Matalin quote) "I don't think he [Sen. John McCain] rests comfortably anywhere that conservatives would call home today. If it was true yesterday, it's not true for tomorrow's issues. The ones that he has chosen to take a lead on are the ones that conservatives either don't prioritize or flat-out loathe."

MATALIN: Like --

BLITZER: Like what?

MATALIN: -- some global warming issues. But he's going --

BLITZER: They loathe that?

MATALIN: Because it's a largely unscientific hoax. And it's a political concoction.

BLITZER: But he believes with [Sen.] Joe Lieberman [I-CT] -- he's co-sponsoring legislation on that.

MATALIN: He's going to have to put together an energy policy that has elements of conservation but productivity, and reduces our dependence on oil. He has said that. Some of the other issues, though --

BLITZER: But on global warming he's a true believer.

MATALIN: But he's not going to prioritize that, because that's not where the country is right now. And you haven't heard him prioritizing that.

"Unscientific hoax?!" my roommate shouted at the television. "Are you insane?!"

As Media Matters details, it's not the first time a CNN analyst has asserted blatant falsehoods when it comes to global warming.

When it comes to the science of global warming, there is no debate about whether it's happening or whether our greenhouse gas emissions are to blame. There's debate about the degree to which we'll warm, how fast, and what we can do to cure the planet's fever.

There's confusion in the public's mind only because conservative pundits keep making stuff up about climate science and networks like CNN keep giving them free air time to do it. For the straight science, check out RealClimate.

As for whether McCain will "prioritize that," it's a bit of a puzzle. While he co-sponsored climate legislation with Sen. Joe Lieberman, he says he won't support the current version of the bill, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, unless it includes more subsidies for nuclear power. If his ultimate goal is to cut carbon emissions, why is he prioritizing the nuclear industry over climate action? Odd.

Did Climate Action Deliver Florida for McCain?

UPDATE (Wed. 10:30am): Two hours after I originally posted this to DailyKos, Grist miraculously drew the same conclusions. What are the odds? :)

McCain leads in Florida.

McCain supports climate action.

Thompson drops out.

Romney picks up Thompson's supporters, who deny global warming even exists.

Romney takes lead in polls.

Romney attacks McCain for supporting climate action.

Climate action mack daddy Gov. Charlie Crist endorses McCain.

McCain regains lead in Florida polls.

McCain wins Florida.

Coincidence? I think not.

Cross-posted from Daily Kos