BLOG

Candidates are Embracing Global Warming in a Big Way

-- Mike -- 03/15/2007

We're still several weeks away from the first official debates of the presidential primaries, but the candidates have already begun to attempt to distinguish themselves from each other - and just this week at least two candidates highlighted the issue of global warming in a significant way.

Yesterday, Bill Richardson's campaign sent an e-mail to its supporters from Stewart Udall, former Secretary of the Interior to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, in which he says Richardson will be "the leader we need on global warming" and that he "stands head and shoulders above the other candidates."

Udall goes on to describe some of the governor's recent achievements in New Mexico:

"Last week the Governor signed a new law that would quadruple New Mexico's use of clean energy by 2020, requiring that by then 20% of an electrical utility's power supply comes from renewable energy sources."

Earlier this week, John Edwards sent an e-mail to his supporters in which he announced that his campaign was going "carbon neutral." Edwards outlined how he planned to achieve this:

"First, we're implementing a number of simple but effective techniques to conserve energy in our national and field offices. And I've asked my staff to take concrete steps to reduce their own energy consumption. Conserving energy now is the single biggest thing we all can do as individuals to combat global warming.

"But presidential campaigns by their nature use an enormous amount of energy for travel and operations. Which is why today I have also directed the campaign to purchase carbon offsets that support alternative energy production to neutralize the global warming impact from our travel and office energy use."

A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC found that 73 percent of Americans say they are following the 2008 presidential race "closely." It's clear that the country is listening to what the candidates are saying. And it's clear that the candidates are responding - not only by explicitly addressing global warming - but by embracing the issue as a way to break through a crowded field.