John McCain has long been an avowed fan of Theodore Roosevelt, one of the nation's most charismatic presidents and one of its first and most influential environmental advocates. So it's not surprising that Roosevelt's great-grandson, Theodore Roosevelt IV, is someone the Republican presidential nominee has turned to for advice and perspective when confronted with high-profile environmental policy decisions.
Over the course of about a year, McCain has had repeated conversations about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) with Roosevelt, a managing director for Lehman Brothers who spoke Friday at a gathering for Republican National Convention delegates and officials. Many in McCain's party want to drill for oil in the wilderness area. McCain, though, has listened repeatedly over the past year to Roosevelt make his case for protecting the area. Finally, Roosevelt got a call from McCain one day at his office.
When Roosevelt picked up the phone, the Arizona senator's gravelly voice announced that Roosevelt had won his case. The line he used drew laughter as Roosevelt relayed it to a room full of McCain delegates: "Ted, I'm with you, but you can't tell a goddamned person until I release it.''
Green Republicans
Roosevelt was the guest of honor at a session sponsored by a group whose symbol is the green elephant: Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP). At a convention where delegates' shouts of "Drill, baby, drill" interrupted speeches by both McCain and his vice presidential pick Sarah Palin, the REP gathering was a welcome dose of straight talk about the need for stewardship and about both the realities and the challenges of shifting from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources. "Conservation is Conservative'' proclaimed the banner across the top of the gathering room in St. Paul's historic Hamm Building.
While the event got a good turnout of delegates, it wasn't jammed with either party devotees or the media. And that's a shame. The REP is the real deal when it comes to environmental advocacy and doesn't pull any punches for candidates either inside or outside the Republican Party.
Unlike many gatherings that were closed to the press, the REP welcomed bloggers and reporters. David Jenkins, the REP's government affairs director, spent a great deal of time with me explaining the group's mission and its history. One of the key things he mentioned is that the group did not endorse President Bush in 2000 or 2004. The reason? Bush fell short when the group sat down and looked at his policies and track record as an environmental steward.
This year, the REP is endorsing John McCain. And, like Roosevelt arguing on behalf of the ANWR, they make a good case. McCain, they believe, is a conservative who understands the value of stewardship. McCain's vote to safeguard the ANWR, one of Dwight D. Eisenhower's conservation legacies, is just one small part of McCain's record that has garnered the REP's approval.
According to the REP:
- McCain was the first senator of either party to introduce comprehensive climate change legislation.
- He's seen evidence of climate change firsthand and taken his congressional colleagues with him on various trips to win their support.
- He has a balanced energy policy to pilot the nation through a transitional energy era.
- He's helped reform the way Congress funds water projects and has blocked big-spending proposals that would have negatively impacted waterways and wetlands.
Roosevelt, who described himself as a “moderate Republican,“ added his strong voice to the REP's support for McCain. But he also offered up some blunt talk about the nation's energy policy, the economy, and some of the remedies that have been proposed at the RNC gathering. Roosevelt was very concerned about the economy, saying it is worse than the current leadership has acknowledged and that it is going to take time to recover. And that recovery will involve raising interest rates, increasing taxes, and cutting spending.
Sustainable energy
Roosevelt said Republicans need to embrace the shift to sustainable energy because it is intertwined with the economy and will help drive the recovery. He chided the party's call for energy independence, saying it's probably not possible because oil is the lifeblood of transportation energy. But, he said, it is possible for the nation to reduce its dependency on foreign energy sources.
Roosevelt also mentioned some of the key energy issues addressed at the RNC, which ended its four-day run Thursday with McCain's speech.
For example, "clean coal" is something of a holy energy grail that's been mentioned in speeches before the main body of delegates at the Xcel Energy Center and also by House Republican leadership at an energy press conference held during the convention. Roosevelt noted correctly that practical clean coal technology doesn’t exist yet. If anything, Roosevelt said, we're still 10 to 15 years away from where we need to be. And that's with some kind of private–public partnership to accelerate development.
Roosevelt also urged McCain to stay the course on the ANWR. Palin is for drilling in the ANWR. Roosevelt said he understood why she'd take that position as the governor of Alaska. But Roosevelt, who is open to some offshore drilling, said the environmental risks of drilling in the ANWR are too great. The oil is in pockets and there would need to be an extensive network of pipelines. Pipelines, he noted, have a questionable safety record. Roosevelt said he didn't believe McCain would change his stance on the ANWR even though his vice presidential pick believes in opening it up to drilling. Roosevelt said he hopes that Palin will "have to toe the line" in a McCain administration
The right candidate
According to Roosevelt, McCain is the right candidate to lead the country at this critical time. Citing his long conversation with McCain concerning the ANWR, he asked the crowd which candidate is more willing to listen to the evidence before making a decision on the environment and energy? The crowd enthusiastically replied: "McCain!" Roosevelt posed a similar question, "Who is more likely to stand up to Congress and cut spending?" and got the same response.
Although McCain seemed to take a more hardline approach, in his acceptance speech Thursday night, on expanding drilling opportunities, the REP gathering offered a heartening glimpse of the candidate and a different but still clearly influential wing of the GOP. That influence is much more visible in McCain's platform (LINK HERE) than it has been during the convention.
On Friday morning, the delegates and protesters began returning home. Crews were returning the Xcel Energy Center to its regular use: a hockey arena for the Minnesota Wild. It was clear, though, that despite the rhetoric, common ground exists between the Republicans and the Democrats when it comes to energy and the environment. The shift to more sustainable energy sources was clearly supported all this week, as well as widespread acknowledgment of the economic gold mine this shift represents. There are policy differences, to be sure, but a general sense of where the nation needs to go. That's a reassuring feeling as we head into what is sure to be a hard-fought campaign in the weeks ahead with no clear sense of who will emerge the victor on election day.
Day 3 of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, was one in which broad hints were dropped about future energy policy if John McCain wins the White House in November. The most obvious one came from an unexpected source: the delegates themselves.
As former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani warmed up the crowd for vice presidential pick Sarah Palin, delegates at a packed Xcel Energy Center erupted in “Drill baby, drill!” chants at the mention of energy independence. Palin herself highlighted domestic energy development as one key issue in a speech mostly meant as a personal introduction to the nation.
Noting her familiarity with the Arctic as Alaska’s governor, Palin said the North Slope has the oil and gas needed to break the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, despite evidence from the Department of Energy to the contrary.
Laying more pipelines, building more nuclear plants, burning more clean coal, and developing renewable energy sources would be a priority of the new administration, Palin said, beginning as soon as January if she and McCain take office.
“We need American sources of resources,” Palin told a cheering crowd that began a second wave of “Drill baby, drill!” chants.
Earlier in the day, House Republican leadership had called a press conference at the RNC to highlight the GOP’s American Energy Act. Among other things, the act would
• Open up more coastal areas and the Arctic coastal plain to oil exploration
• Develop shale oil resources
• Provide tax incentives to spur everything from driving fuel-efficient vehicles to making homes more energy efficient
• Permanently extend tax credits for alternative energy production.
Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who has been a prominent figure at the RNC and is considered a rising political star, called Republicans “freedom fighters” for American energy independence.
“We have energy galore in the United States, but we have a Prohibition-era mentality when it comes to American energy production,” said Bachmann, who represents a northern swath of suburbs near the Twin Cities.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said energy is “the number 1 issue” facing the nation and referred to the Energy Act as “all of the above” energy policy for its emphasis on both traditional and new energy sources. One traditional fuel Boehner highlighted was coal, calling the United States the “Saudi Arabia of coal” for its vast undeveloped reserves of this fossil fuel. Boehner’s emphasis on this traditional energy source comes at a time when battles are taking place across the nation over building new coal plants and how best to reduce carbon emissions from existing ones. He did not mention various policy remedies to reduce these emissions, such as cap-and-trade plans. Republicans generally oppose them, while Democrats support them.
Boehner also may have provided a sense of how the GOP will handle a key energy policy difference between McCain and his new running mate. McCain currently opposes drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Palin, whose husband works in the oil industry, favors it. Boehner was asked directly about the difference between the two candidates. His response suggested that Republicans are pushing McCain to reevaluate that stance. Boehner said McCain is mostly on board with the initiatives in the Energy Act and that Republicans are “working on him” to get him to 100 percent support.
Building more nuclear plants, a policy highlighted by Palin and strongly supported earlier in the campaign by McCain, also is a key part of the Energy Act. Georgia Congressman Tom Price, who represents a suburban Atlanta area, spoke to Physics Today after the press conference, laying out Republicans’ policy to fast-track construction of more nuclear plants.
Price noted that about 19 percent of the electricity the United States consumes comes from nuclear power. That compares with 77 percent from France, he said.
To boost nuclear power in the United States, more plants need to be built, he said. Republicans would encourage this by
• Decreasing regulation hurdles for new plants
• Limiting lawsuits’ ability to slow down plant construction
• Providing tax incentives to build new plants
• Developing better policy and options for dealing with spent nuclear waste.
On that last, controversial issue, Price said the party is looking to leading scientists to guide policy and shape the best solution.
Price said to expect energy policy and solutions to play a critical role in the election to come. In his district, soaring gas prices have led energy policy to topple immigration as the leading issue his constituents are worried about.
The first science moment of the day at the Republican National Convention came at 8:55 p.m. from an unlikely person: President Bush.
Beamed in by satellite onto the extra-large video screen dominating the dais at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bush veered for a second into actual policy on a day set aside officially to honor service to country and John McCain’s war record. Bush, who endorsed McCain as a man to follow when there’s a tough call to make,” also gave a brief nod to the Republican nominee’s future energy policy. In a statement that drew some of the president’s biggest cheers from the crowd of delegates, Bush said McCain would “lift the ban on drilling for offshore oil today.”
The day’s only other science moment would come about an hour later when Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman made a brief reference to McCain taking action on global warming, without saying exactly what it was that McCain had done or planned to do.
Hurricane Palin
After Hurricane Gustav delayed events on Monday, the RNC returned to business as usual on Tuesday, with delegates filing into Xcel later in the day for widely promoted speeches by Lieberman and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson. But the day was truly dominated by McCain’s vice presidential pick, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. News shows broadcast from Minnesota’s capital city talked of nothing but the predicament Palin and her family find themselves in by running on the national ticket.
Delegates also talked of little else. And while it was clear that the GOP was circling the wagons around the Palin, there was also a very clear sense that for many delegates, her addition to the ticket solidified their support for McCain and erased many doubts about his conservative credentials. If anything, it appeared to strengthen their support for Palin, with many criticizing the media and pundits for “elitist” comments regarding her background.
John D. Frier, an aide to a former Illinois governor, lambasted the nation’s obsession with Palin’s family, saying the election would be dominated by ”ticky-tacky” issues. “We are a tabloid country,” Frier said.
Science issues off the agenda
If the RNC is any indication, those monitoring the campaign ahead with science in mind are likely to come away feeling unsatisfied. Tuesday night was a time to highlight the candidates personally. But key themes emerged through the night in speeches that began with Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, who welcomed delegates to St. Paul, a city where he had been mayor and helped build the Xcel Energy Center, at which the convention is being held.
The speeches indicate that campaign issues ahead come straight out of the Republican playbook that has helped the party rally its base in the last two elections and win. Speaker after speaker touted McCain’s commitment to defending human life, along with his opposition to big government and raising taxes. Neither Palin nor McCain is expected to hit policy hard in their convention speeches ahead, meaning that answers about health care, funding for scientific research, energy policy, and various policy remedies for global warming need to be spelled out in the relatively short time remaining in the campaign.
A key figure to watch for in the convention speeches ahead is Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Widely considered the runner-up for the vice presidential pick, Pawlenty is viewed as a potential cabinet pick if McCain wins. It is highly likely he would be posted to the Department of Energy. In 2007, Pawlenty pushed policy called the Next Generation Energy Initiative, which set some of the nation’s most far-reaching greenhouse gas reduction goals. Pawlenty has also been an advocate at the national level in promoting energy efficiency, renewable energy strategies, and awareness of climate change as chair of the National Governors Association.
Tuesday was marred by protesters’ skirmishes with police late in the evening. More are expected Wednesday night, with local law enforcement on high alert as Palin and McCain finally arrive at the convention.
Jill Jungling, a Twin Cities–based freelance journalist, reports for Physics Today Online on the science-related events at this week’s Republican National Convention.
Nuclear power, climate change, alternative energy, drilling for oil in environmentally sensitive areas. Those are among the highest-profile science issues that John McCain and the GOP are expected to tackle this week as the Republican National Convention opened Monday in St. Paul, Minnesota's capital city, for a four-day run.
But on Monday, meteorology dominated the day as wary GOP officials kept watch on Hurricane Gustav, scaling back opening-day business as protesters marched through the streets. President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney had been expected, but they canceled as fears rose that Gustav could be as devastating as Hurricane Katrina. Instead, the kickoff day was one for political spouses, with Laura Bush and Cindy McCain expected to appear before delegates, and for some of the less glamorous business of a convention to take center stage. Delegates descended on St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center to get their credentials and to consider the party's platform.
Building unity on drilling, global warming
Much of the platform work had been done late last week across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, where GOP officials smoothed language and polished up the largely symbolic 48-page document ) that the delegates will consider. Part of those final touches involved climate change. Party officials softened the platform from its more questioning state to somewhat align it with McCain's views that global warming is manmade. The final document now calls for increasing America's energy supply and decreasing the nation's long-term demand for oil so that the country is "well-positioned to address the challenge of global warming."
Whether the party squares up McCain's opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with the opposing view of his vice presidential pick Sarah Palin, the current Alaska governor, is something to watch for when both candidates are expected to address the convention later this week. McCain, who has started to express willingness to compromise on ANWR drilling, has also called for ramping up the nation's use of nuclear energy. His speech, and Palin’s, whose husband is a BP employee, will come on the heels of the moderate handling of energy policy that the nation saw last week in Barack Obama's keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver Obama called for energy independence and investment in alternative fuels, but he did not offer up strong language on global warming, surprising some political observers. Palin is considered more skeptical of global warming than McCain and has questioned whether human impact is responsible for some of the changes scientists have documented.
Issues for protesters
Monday was expected to be the peak day for protesters. Late Monday morning a much smaller than anticipated crowd gathered in 90° heat on a grassy hill in front of Minnesota's state capitol. Upward of 50,000 people had been expected to march, something that had spurred local law enforcement to spend months and millions of dollars on security. It was clear by midafternoon that the numbers were nowhere near that. Officials first estimated that 10,000 were marching on the Xcel Center, then a revised count put it at about 2000. For the most part, the march was uneventful; skirmishes with the police were few, although there had been some arrests at a previous march over the weekend and preemptive raids at a number of houses on Saturday.
An antiwar vibe and signs dominated both the rally and the march, but protesters embraced in traditional and creative ways a number of other causes. High on the capitol's lawn, bands belted out war protest songs. Slogans on protester signs included the following:
- "Beware of Weapons of Mass Destruction"
- "War Is Not Green.''
Fran Hanlon of Austin, Texas, donned a negligee, pink glittery cap, and beauty-queen-style sash proclaiming her "Miss Clean Air'' for the rally. Mary Nelson of Chicago toted a sign whose pink foam letters said, "End Poverty, End War, End Warming.''
Nelson said protesters may be focusing on the war, but the nation's energy policy is inextricably linked to that. "We went to war for oil, as far as I'm concerned.'' She added that government needs to encourage investment in renewable energy and that more money is needed to clean up areas contaminated by industry; "There are good jobs in the clean-up process.'' Nelson said. She's also concerned about McCain's push for more nuclear power plants.
McCain's choice of Palin as his running mate left many protesters concerned. "I think she's really scary,'' said Liz Rogness, a teacher from St. Paul who noted Palin's positions on drilling in the Arctic and global warming.
Scott Walters and Kim Hunter, also of St. Paul, brought elaborate signs to the rally. Walters noted with a grin that his signs had already irritated Republican National Committee (RNC) officials who happened to be using the same Kinko's for other convention-related business.
Walters and Hunter agreed the causes they'd highlighted on their signs didn't include a lot of science, though Hunter pointed out that one of them had food safety highlighted. Still, Walters said, "I think energy policy's the sleeper issue.''
Too scary for an airport
Walters and Hunter are both members of the Union of Concerned Scientists. About a week ago, an antinuclear weapons advertisement that the organization had paid to display at the airport was taken down by Clear Channel Communications, which owns the billboard. The poster features an image of downtown Minneapolis with target cross hairs superimposed on it. "When only one nuclear bomb could destroy a city like Minneapolis," the headline reads, "we don't need 6,000." The subhead states: "Senator McCain: It's time to get serious about reducing the nuclear threat.” A similar billboard was displayed in Denver addressed to Obama and was also taken down.
Northwest Airlines, the official airline of the Republican National Convention, had forwarded complaints to Clear Channel that the billboard was "scary" and "anti-McCain.
A changing schedule
The RNC's schedule is still up in the air for the rest of the week at this point. However, one key event emphasizing science will take place Wednesday morning at an energy and commerce breakfast, where US Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez is the expected keynote speaker. Other breakfast meetings, key events that typically include a heavy dose of policy and heavyweight speakers, will focus on such topics as health care innovation and intellectual property.
For now, though, it's unclear when or if the RNC agenda will return to normal. It's not the “Convention That Wasn't,” as was feared at one point. But what it will be, particularly related to science policy, remains to be seen.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi attended the Maryland Democratic Party breakfast Wednesday morning. There was a reason for that: Baltimore is her birthplace, and she is the daughter of former Baltimore mayor Thomas D’Allesandro. She is also a much more compelling speaker in person than on camera, and she had some really tough words on our energy crisis.
She was unequivocal in saying, “ ‘Drill, drill, drill’ is the mantra of the handmaidens of big oil,” and “Offshore drilling is the biggest hoax perpetrated on the American public.” Personally I was pleased to hear that, because the national news had seemed to suggest that the Democrats may cave on the offshore drilling issue.
“Green-collar jobs” was also a phrase used in the breakfast talk. Because it was an unusual phrase, I looked it up on Google and found that I had missed hearing it in Hillary Clinton’s convention speech.
Time magazine also had a piece a while ago explaining what the phrase means to the candidates and what it tries to convey to the public. The main point by the Democrats seems to be that these are the jobs of the future and are the sort of jobs that cannot be shipped overseas.
But after digging into the Obama website to find out more specific details to account for the 5 million green-collar jobs mentioned in yesterday’s posting [add link], I was disappointed to find little in the way of specifics, and what I did find includes a reliance on clean coal technology to come up with the figure. I knew that Obama had supported so-called clean coal as a state legislator, but it figures more prominently in the 5 million total than I had expected. If carbon sequestration is ever perfected and we can mine coal without mountain-top removal or other monstrous degradation to the environment, then I might be for it. After all, the US is the “Saudi Arabia of coal.” Clean coal would certainly reduce our dependence on oil, but right now I see it as a distraction from developing renewable energy technologies.
From Obama’s website:
Create Millions of New Green Jobs
• Ensure 10% of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012 and 25% by 2025.
• Deploy the cheapest, cleanest, fastest energy source—energy efficiency.
Obama will set an aggressive energy efficiency goal—to reduce electricity demand 15% from projected levels by 2020.
• Weatherize one million homes annually.
Obama will make a national commitment to weatherize at least 1 million low-income homes each year for the next decade, which can reduce energy usage across the economy and help moderate energy prices for all.
• Develop and deploy clean coal technology.
Obama’s Department of Energy will enter into public–private partnerships to develop five “first-of-a-kind” commercial-scale coal-fired plants with clean carbon capture and sequestration technology.
• Prioritize the construction of the Alaska natural gas pipeline.
As president, Obama will work with stakeholders to facilitate construction of the pipeline. Not only is the pipeline critical to our energy security, it will create thousands of new jobs.
Words at the convention
Science and energy were not on the agenda at the convention Wednesday night, but did get brief mentions by John Kerry in his blistering attack on John McCain:
And “the assault on science” was mentioned in a dramatic speech by President Bill Clinton:
Meanwhile, a blog entry brings up the environmental views from Joe Biden’s old campaign website. Seems like a good addition to the ticket in that respect:
Denver’s clean energy mantra
Take a look at this short clip I created on YouTube. It is footage of a hybrid Prius taxi-cab on a Denver street, along with a demonstration GM fuel-cell vehicle in front of the Pepsi Center.
I can’t wait to see hybrid taxis in every major city and fuel cell vehicles for sale at the car lots!
Obama’s big acceptance speech happens Thursday night at the Mile-High Stadium, and former Vice President Al Gore should have some good words on climate and science issues before the presidential nominee takes the stage.
Maryland delegate Ryan Ewing reports for Physics Today Online on the science-related events at this week’s Democratic National Convention.
Energy Night
Energy was the theme of Tuesday evening, starting with the nightly “America’s Town Hall,” which aired late in the 6:00pm session during prime-time viewing hours.
Looking at the CSPAN video, the session actually plays much better to the television-watching audience then it did to the convention hall. There was a similar town-hall-style session the first night of the convention, and I recall thinking how awkward it was, since hardly anyone in the convention hall could focus on the discussion with all the background noise.
However, during one portion of the discussion, with Jerome Ringo, the head of the Apollo Alliance —a coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze interest and investment in clean energy—I suddenly realized why Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm was leading this session:
“When we talk about the turbine and wind industry, someone must design a turbine, that is a job; someone must build that turbine, that is a job; somebody has to maintain that turbine, that is a job.”
This was all about creating US-based energy in a new energy economy that would replace jobs lost in manufacturing as production moves overseas. It is a clear winner in the party platform, and likely to have strong appeal for the public, as well as bond the labor and environmental wings of the Democratic Party with a common goal.
It soon became evident during the evening that the Democrats would use this issue of energy both to draw a clear distinction between the political parties in this election and as a bludgeon against Senator John McCain: The speakers who addressed the economy and clean energy got some of the largest applause.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who supports investing in renewable energy from the heartland (wind and ethanol), has a great quip about McCain and renewables:
The actual keynote speaker for the evening was former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, but surprisingly, applause was muted for his speech compared with the speech made by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Schweitzer’s speech highlighted the energy issue and received some of the most thunderous applause of the night, short of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s speech. To get the complete effect this speech had on the convention, it should be viewed in its entirety. Schweitzer comes across as a jovial and entertaining man to watch; it looks like he is really enjoying himself up there, and I can’t believe we haven’t seen more of him before.
One of the only no-applause parts of Schweitzer’s speech was his suggestion that coal is part of an energy solution for America, which landed with a thud. But he quickly picked it up again, outlining each type of renewable energy that McCain has voted against.
Highlights of Schweitzer’s speech include the following: “We cannot drill our way to energy independence, if you drill everywhere, if you drill in all of John McCain’s backyards, even the ones he doesn’t know he has.”
“$4 billion in tax breaks for big oil: that’s a lot of change, but not the change we need.”
“Barack Obama understands the most important barrel of oil is the one you do not use.”
“America needs energy independence: the petrol-dictators will never own American wind and sunshine. And we should never again be beheld to their barrels of crude.”
And the theme reiterated is that the new renewable energy economy will create 5 million new green jobs. How these 5 million jobs will be created was not explained at the forum, but I hope to find out more details at a later date. Clearly new jobs in a growing industry is the message the party is trying to hammer home.
A green evening
After the convention proceedings, the Maryland Delegation met together for our second evening reception, this time at Gumbo’s restaurant. The reception was hosted by Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, a decidedly green elected official who has been working on various environmental issues in Maryland, particularly river and water quality. Greeting us at the door was US Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, who was a leading contender for the vice-presidency, and whose father, the retired senator Birch Bayh, now lives in my hometown of Easton, Maryland.
But the real treat of the evening was Gansler’s connection to our special guest speaker, chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Robert Kennedy Jr. While Kennedy did not speak specifically on science or environmental issues (he said he was shying away from that after a controversial recent appearance at a Poultry Summit on Maryland’s Eastern Shore), he was a compelling speaker nonetheless and continued the green theme for the evening.
Leaving the party early, a friend and I took the free shuttle service on Denver’s mile-long 16th Street pedestrian mall from one end to the other to see the band Death Cab for Cutie at the League of Conservation Voters’ “Concert for a Cool Climate.” This was at the Sherman Center, which appeared to be a large old church converted into a four-story venue. Since I work with the Maryland League, we got in with VIP passes to enjoy some local Denver microbrews and eats. Quite the nice way to wrap up such a green-oriented day at the convention.
A first-time visitor to the Denver International Airport or anyone who hasn’t been through it lately will be struck by the large solar array on the airport grounds. The acres of solar panels show a Denver that is committed to renewable energy, and they are in line with the theme of a “green” convention here in the Mile-High City.
According to the Associated Press, “9,200 panels cover 7 1/2 acres beside the main highway to and from the airport terminal. The photovoltaic system will generate over 3 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year. City officials say that will reduce carbon emissions by more than 6.3 million pounds a year.”
This is one of many efforts evident in Denver’s new sustainability trend. Denver mayor John Hickenlooper is the public voice for this and other environmental efforts, including a fleet of 1000 public bicycles available to visitors to help them reduce their carbon footprints. The Democratic Party itself has taken some visible steps at the convention, staffing each waste area with a recycling volunteer to inform folks that every tray or container used at the Pepsi Center is biodegradable. Individual state delegations also had the opportunity to offset the carbon footprint of their travel, and if they did so, they received a special “green” designation above their placards.
But as an individual delegate, what you first find in your convention materials is literally a mixed bag. Along with the typical swag is literature about greening the convention, an invitation to “Sun Fest” (an outdoor concert and solar power festival), and even a Bisphenol-A-free water bottle to discourage the use of disposable ones. However, just like coal in Christmas stockings, there is also a “stress reliever”–style piece of fake coal endorsing support for coal power.
Science on the Schedule
Although Monday night at the convention was compelling for television, most notably because of speeches by Senator Barack Obama’s wife, Michelle Obama, and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), there was little in the way of science. Having sat through all the proceedings, from the 3pm gaveling-in of the convention through the 9pm adjournment, I heard only passing mention of sustainability by Mayor Hickenlooper in his welcoming address. There was a good swipe, however, by former Republican congressman Jim Leach of Iowa, who addressed the Democrats in his endorsement of Obama, saying that his party has abdicated its leadership on issues of conservation and fails to address the challenge of global warming.
Since this is my first convention, I didn’t realize that day 1 is spent passing through various resolutions and taking care of general business … so I missed the chance to attend a sustainability fair at Invesco Field with host Willie Nelson, as well as the corporate event “Bank of America Goes Green.”
Other events surrounding the convention schedule include a day-long symposium Tuesday, Energy and Climate Change at Space Theatre. For a $55 cover charge, the event could certainly enlighten and engage a regular attendee, although with all the delegation demands and conflicts, I wouldn’t be able to attend but a small portion of it. Hopefully, the town hall meeting for delegates at the Pepsi Center this evening will cover the highlights. However, in an obvious effort to get a climate message across to youth voters, I will attend a “concert for a cool climate” tonight, hosted by the League of Conservation Voters and headlined by the band Death Cab for Cutie.
