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Mike Huckabee Meets SC Conservationists

-- John -- 06/24/2007

On Friday, June 22, Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee sat down with conservation leaders to talk about climate issues and energy independence. As an avid bass fisherman and long-time member of organizations like Ducks Unlimited and National Wild Turkey Federation, Huckabee said that he traces his attitudes about conservation and climate to the old Boy Scout adage: leave the campsite better than you find it. And as a Baptist minister, the imperative to preserve our natural heritage for future generations is a Christian moral duty: "If we deplete our energy and natural resources, then we've done something fiscally, environmentally, and morally irresponsible. It's an act of sin."

The Governor simultaneously recognizes that addressing climate change and securing America's energy independence require concrete solutions, including increasing CAFE standards, promoting more fuel-efficient cars, and redesigning neighborhoods to make them pedestrian-friendly. His legislative record includes having supported an .8-cent sales tax that went toward conservation projects, an initiative that enjoyed popular support in a state not famous for supporting tax increases. According to Governor Huckabee, the debate on conservation has become muddled and partisan. Conservation and development interests are not antithetical - according to Huckabee, what's good for the environment is good for the long-term economic prospects of our country and the world.

Additionally, Governor Huckabee connected his commitment to conservation with his support of the Fair Tax proposal, which would replace income taxes with a national retail sales tax. In his words, "a consumption tax forces people to conserve - it becomes in one's immediate economic self-interest to consume less."

Although the governor did not discuss the specifics of a cap-and-trade system, fuel efficiency standards or a renewable electricity standard, he was happy to accept our briefing materials and agreed to meet with us again.

From left to right: Carol Ervin, CVSC board member; Dana Beach, Executive Director, Coastal Conservation League; James Meadows, Regional Director, Ducks Unlimited; Elizabeth Hagood, Director of Conservation Programs, CCL; DuBose Williamson, CVSC intern; Mike Campbell, South Carolina Director, Americans for Prosperity; Governor Mike Huckabee; Ben Moore, Project Manager, CCL; John Ramsburgh, CVSC Project Director.