How Green is Your Candidate?

posted by Peter Rothberg on 01/08/2008 @ 5:06pm

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How do the presidential candidates compare on green issues? The online environmental magazine Grist has created a very useful chart that neatly compares the candidates' environmental records and rhetoric.

As New Hampshire voters stream into polling places in large numbers today to select candidates in the state's first-in-the-nation voter guide for insight into how the candidates plans to save the earth may differ.

Grist also teamed up with Outside magazine to interview the presidential contenders about green issues. Read Q&As with all of the Democrats and with the three Republicans (John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul) who consented to an interview focusing on their eco-credentials and check out Grist's campaign 08 resources.

Comments (28)

Clinton obviously has the most green for the longest......and Ron Paul has been harvesting quite a bit of green recently....both have green thumbs!

Posted by Happy at 01/08/2008 @ 5:13pm
Posted by JOMAMMA 01/08/2008 @ 5:44pm

It seems like the biggest obstacle to pushing these eco-friendly products is getting people to care, which it KINDA seems they are increasingly. I would guess that the best way to get people to care enough to switch to eco-friendly products would be to sell people on the cost-effectiveness of eco-friendliness, which is why the trend hasn't caught on-- because it's not, or hasn't been enough so as of yet(though it should be IMO). By implementing financial incentive to companies, or consumers, that sell/buy/use these products, I could see the demand grow. True idealists aside, people have such an emotional relationship to their money so it's most people's primary concern. If one could save money AND save the environment, then once could could feel great about one's self!

Posted by MATTMAN at 01/08/2008 @ 6:58pm
Thanks for the link to the chart, Peter. The more I read about nuclear energy, the more I'm leaning toward it. Not as a complete replacement to be relied upon solely, but as an intermediate step toward fusion energy. I was surprised that only Obama and Richardson on the Dem side don't oppose nuclear energy.

Posted by FritztheCat at 01/08/2008 @ 6:58pm
Posted by JOMAMMA 01/08/2008 @ 5:44pm

Wow. You seem relatively liberal on this issue!

"BTW, I know you are a bright fellow and a decent fellow...I didn't mean to insult you by commenting on your picture...actually...You look kinda hot...was it warm where they took your picture?..:)"

You seem kinda liberal on other "issues" as well!

Ha ha!

Kidding, of course.

Posted by MATTMAN at 01/08/2008 @ 6:59pm
Posted by FRITZTHECAT 01/08/2008 @ 6:58pm

I agree, though I think better options need to be considered regarding the safe disposal/storage of waste... by a bunch of smart guys of course.

Posted by MATTMAN at 01/08/2008 @ 7:01pm
...and gals!

Posted by MATTMAN at 01/08/2008 @ 7:02pm
Repub or Dem, nobody likely to be inaugurated on January 20, 2009....

is going to be "green enough" for the Environmental Movement.

Posted by Mask at 01/08/2008 @ 7:04pm
Repub or Dem, nobody likely to be inaugurated on January 20, 2009....

is going to be "green enough" for the Environmental Movement.

Posted by MASK 01/08/2008 @ 7:04pm

Naturally....otherwise the cottage industry is over without the need for activism and donations. Ditto feminist issues and the race hustlers.

Posted by Sliver at 01/08/2008 @ 8:24pm
I found anendless water heater that has no holding tank....cost...$ 1500 and I need 2 of them....

I installed one in my house just before Christmas, JM, and it seems to work well. Best of luck with yours.

Posted by Sliver at 01/08/2008 @ 8:37pm
Is it just me or does Peter Rothberg's picture look like he's been smokin' some green?

Posted by Econ Major at 01/08/2008 @ 8:38pm
Yes, John....I did put in a Rinnai. The only drawback is that they are made in Japan, and the inner workings look like something out of a NASA prototype (lots and lots of ...no doubt OEM, wiring, sensors, etc.) I hope that parts are available at this point, should something go wrong.

Word of advice on the Rinnai...if possible, install them on an outside wall directly below where they are going to be vented outside, because they will clip you for their special concentric vent piping. 15' of vent piping and fittings will cost you an extra $500-600 (wholesale).

Posted by Sliver at 01/08/2008 @ 9:16pm
Peter, thanks for the list. Very informative. Can't say that I agree with the "Cap-n-Trade" bit, sounds too much like a new version of Enron to me.

Speaking of recycled...Stallone has another Rambo movie comin' out this month.

Posted by ACook at 01/08/2008 @ 9:30pm
thanks, mr. rothberg

from grist (thanks for the link):

"Tax On, Tax Off

Canadian government rejects panel's advice to implement carbon tax.

[08 Jan 2008]"

help!

"first-in-the-nation voter guide for insight:"

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=267607presidential%20primary% 3C/a%3E,%20the%20contenders%20vied%20for%20support%20from%20the%20undeci ded%20and%20worked%20to%20turn%20out%20their%20respective%20bases.%20For %20those%20environmentally-concerned%20citizens%20still%20undecided,%20i t's%20worth%20checking%20out%20%3Ci%3EGrist%3C/i%3E's%20%3Ca%20href=

bad linkage

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/08/2008 @ 10:45pm
Posted by JOMAMMA 01/08/2008 @ 5:44pm

Posted by MATTMAN 01/08/2008 @ 6:58pm

yeah, we need better stuff.

but in the short run*, consuming less will have a huge impact.

*long run, too.

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/08/2008 @ 10:47pm
nuclear energy.

Posted by FRITZTHECAT 01/08/2008 @ 6:58pm

not worth the trash.

easier solution, turn off that light.

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/08/2008 @ 10:49pm
is going to be "green enough" for the Environmental Movement.

Posted by MASK 01/08/2008 @ 7:04pm

nor me.

Posted by PLANET!!!!!! 01/08/2008 @ 10:49pm | ignore this person

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/08/2008 @ 10:51pm
FZ:

17% of Canadians smoke maryjane, the highest of all Western countries! British Columbia has a $7 Billion buisness growing the stuff.....commercial (illicit) greenhouses & such and in over 13,000 homes.....some tidbit of news picked up today in the paper!

Are you "in" or "out"? Hehehehe ;-)

Posted by Happy at 01/08/2008 @ 10:59pm
Posted by HAPPY 01/08/2008 @ 10:59pm

you know,

unfortunately, i imagine because of clandestine production,

cultivation energy usage far exceeds any "benefit".

plus, with no regulation,

any idiot can apply any agricultural chemical he/she wishes to use.

the stuff's illegal because it's too easy to grow,

and therefore,

too difficult to tax.

compare with tobacco .

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/08/2008 @ 11:15pm
Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 01/08/2008 @ 11:15pm

I'll be honest, if it's legal here, I would `use' it on occasion....even inhale and put on my Yes CDs!

Posted by Happy at 01/08/2008 @ 11:38pm
Posted by HAPPY 01/08/2008 @ 11:38pm

well, drink some organic ale* and watch

this.

*stay away from the "beers" made by the likes of these:

TAP (MOLSON COORS CO CL B) 51.40 -0.21 (-0.41%) Jan 8 4:03pm ET Open: 51.70 High: 52.10 Low: 50.86

Volume: 2,239,900 Avg Vol: 1,268,000 Mkt Cap: 8.43B

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/09/2008 @ 12:10am
"Health Spending Exceeded Record $2 Trillion in 2006

By ROBERT PEAR

Published: January 8, 2008

WASHINGTON -- National health spending soared above $2 trillion for the first time in 2006 and has nearly doubled in the last decade, amounting to an average of $7,000 a person, the government reported on Monday."

whoa! time to stop eating bacon...................

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/09/2008 @ 01:13am
whoa! time to stop eating bacon...................

Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 01/09/2008 @ 01:13am

...and prescribing Ritalin for kids who are a little uppity. There are over 700 of them in my school district alone. The Teachers Union pushes this stuff so that the kids can be classified as "special needs". It's a vague term, but it triples the schools state funding. Nefarious?? Yep.

Posted by Sliver at 01/09/2008 @ 07:37am
Posted by PLAIN BRUCE 01/09/2008 @ 03:26am

hey, i kinda agree with PLAIN BRUCE!

although it leaves me with a question.

how are we going to generate all that extra electricity?

bikes are a good idea, too.

sure like the house power idea, though.

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/09/2008 @ 08:21am
Posted by SLIVER 01/09/2008 @ 07:37am

ritalin.................

what can i say?

"Methylphenidate was patented in 1954 by the Ciba pharmaceutical company (one of the predecessors of Novartis) and was initially prescribed as a treatment for depression, chronic fatigue, and narcolepsy, among other ailments. Beginning in the 1960s, it was used to treat children with ADHD, known at the time as hyperactivity or minimal brain dysfunction (MBD). Today methylphenidate is the medication most commonly prescribed to treat ADHD around the world. Production and prescription of methylphenidate rose significantly in the 1990s, especially in the United States, as the ADHD diagnosis came to be better understood and more generally accepted within the medical and mental health communities."

i vaguely knew one kid who was "hyperactive" when i was in school.

so is life imitating pills or are pills imitating life?

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/09/2008 @ 08:26am
league of conservation voters candidate 08 scorecard

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/10/2008 @ 9:36pm
Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 01/10/2008 @ 9:36pm

Wonder what each would say about the advent of brand new, $2,500 cars from India...the Tataaaaaa Nano! They can only produce, first year, 1/4 million....after they work out the bugs......in another couple of years, man, this car will be HOT! Trade in your Civic for it around 2010?

Posted by Happy at 01/10/2008 @ 10:49pm
Trade in your Civic for it around 2010?

Posted by HAPPY 01/10/2008 @ 10:49pm

sure, if it runs on samosas....................

Posted by frosty zoom at 01/11/2008 @ 09:37am
all i gotta say is: why wait for the government to tell you how to live your life?

do it yourself. i have never owned a car. never will.

and yet, aren't cars the single driving force behind climate change?

seems simple to me. stop driving.

who cares whether the candidates embrace the weakest of "green" principles?

Posted by darladoon at 01/11/2008 @ 2:20pm