On Environmental Issues, Hillary Clinton is a No-Brainer Over Rivals

[DonViejo]

On Environmental Issues, Hillary Clinton is a No-Brainer Over Rivals

In a better world, presidential candidates would debate how to solve the climate change crisis. Instead, climate change and other environmental issues are another area where Republicans and Democrats disagree. In fact, most leading Republicans won’t even admit climate change is happening.

Conversely, Hillary Clinton’s record during her eight years in the Senate should be encouraging to environmentalists. The League of Conservation Voters issues a report card every year on members of Congress. During then-Sen. Clinton’s time in office, she amassed a lifetime score of 82 out of 100.

As a means of comparison, current Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio have lifetime scores of 11, 11, 9, and 9, respectively. There is no comparison.
While in the senate, Clinton voted to:

Keep drillers out of public lands, including Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Support clean, safe, renewable energy.

Protect families by ensuring water and air are clean.

Seek alternatives to coal.

Provide assistance for low income families for help with energy bills.


Read more: http://bluenationreview.com/environmental-issues-hillary-clinton-brainer-rivals/#ixzz3eUDvZLVLrivals/#ixzz3eUDKINRV

Where Does Hillary Clinton Stand on the Environment?

Her silence on Keystone XL has irked environmentalists, but Clinton is the only presidential candidate to fully accept human-caused climate change.

By Anastasia Pantsios / EcoWatch April 14, 2015

There’s a cliche among those who are discouraged by the political climate that “there’s no difference between the candidates.” Now that Hillary Clinton has made her official, anticipated-for-years announcement that she will be running for president in 2016, making her the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination, it’s time to look at where she stands on environmental issues versus where the Republican field of millions—OK, dozens—stands.

The GOP field has two official candidates so far—senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas. Florida Sen. Mario Rubio is expected to announce today. Numerous other hopefuls, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, are making moves, such as visits to key primary states like New Hampshire, that show they’d like to be in the race as well.

The only other clear likely candidate in the Democratic field is immediate past Gov. of Maryland Martin O’Malley, who is campaigning vigorously but has not announced his candidacy.

You’re going to hear grumbling from some environmentalists about Hillary’s lack of perfection. One particular sticking point is her failure to say where she stands on approving the Keystone XL pipeline. She told an audience in Winnipeg in January, “You won’t get me to talk about Keystone because I have steadily made clear that I’m not going to express an opinion. It is in our process and that’s where it belongs.”

more
http://www.alternet.org/environment/where-does-hillary-clinton-stand-environment

Is Bernie Sanders the Best Candidate on Climate Change?

He was recently ranked as the Senate's top leader on global warming.

—By Ben Adler | Thu May 14, 2015 6:15 AM EDT

This article originally appeared in Grist and is republished here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

The Democratic presidential primary race got its second major candidate recently, and its first true climate hawk: Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, self-described democratic socialist. Sanders has one of the strongest climate change records in the Senate. In fact, according to rankings released by Climate Hawks Vote, a new super PAC, Sanders was the No. 1 climate leader in the Senate for the 113th Congress that ended in January.

Climate Hawks Vote measures leadership, not just voting records, tabulating actions like bills introduced, speeches given, and so forth. In the 112th Congress, Sanders ranked third behind Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). In the last Congress, he edged out Whitehouse by one point.

"Sanders is very much among the top leaders," says R.L. Miller, founder of Climate Hawks Vote. "He has a record of really strong advocacy for solar in particular." Miller notes that distributed solar, which enables everyone with a solar panel to create their own energy instead of relying on a monopolistic utility company, fits especially well with Sanders' democratic socialist philosophy. It's bad for corporations and good for regular folks who get to own the means of production.

Here are some of the highlights from Sanders' climate and clean energy record:

more
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/05/bernie-sanders-greenest-presidential-candidate

[daleanime]

1. Then she would have come out.....

against the TPP.

[elleng]

2. And the Presidential Candidate With a Plan to Run the US on 100% Clean Energy is

MARTIN O'MALLEY!

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/martin-omalley-clean-energy-candidate

This is what a real climate plan looks like: Martin O’Malley’s bold approach sets the standard.

http://www.salon.com/2015/06/22/this_is_what_a_real_climate_plan_looks_like_martin_omalleys_bold_approach_sets_the_standard/

[askew]

10. O'Malley is the best candidate on the environment.

He made it a priority in his Governorship and he has made it a priority for his presidential campaign. It's clear it is an issue he feels passionate about and his policies are among the most progressive in the race. He is light-years better than Hillary on the environment.

[elleng]

11. YES, he IS!

[Autumn]

3. Hillary's support for fracking while she was SOS says a lot

as does her silence on Keystone XL.

[DJ13]

4. No brain....er, is right

[bunnies]

5. Bernies lifetime score is 95.

Just sayin.

[hootinholler]

15. I went to look that up before I saw your reply.

http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/bernie-sanders

[FSogol]

6. Mother Jones magazine called O'Malley the best candidate on environmental issues.

And that was before his recent proposals on moving us to clean energy.

Article here:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/12/martin-omalley-longshot-presidential-candidate-and-real-climate-hawk

[Vattel]

7. Really? Could you quote the magazine?

[FSogol]

8. I posted the link to the article, but ok. Here's some quotes:

Martin O'Malley Is A Longshot Presidential Candidate, and a Real Climate Hawk
The data-loving Maryland gov could have the greenest credentials of any '16 contender.

O'Malley is the rare elected official who seems genuinely motivated to address climate change. "I deal with a lot of politicians in my work as a climate advocate," says Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. "Martin O'Malley, more than any politician I know, really loses sleep over climate change. He is deeply concerned about climate change and his actions over the last eight years reveal that. He's pushed the envelope more than anyone I've seen. He's the kind of politician where his staff comes in and says, ‘Here's what we propose to do,' and most politicians would say, ‘Let's cut that down a little,' and Martin O'Malley regularly says, ‘We can't do better than that? Push a little harder?'"

[elleng]

9. and I posted above, at #2:

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/martin-omalley-clean-energy-candidate

This is what a real climate plan looks like: Martin O’Malley’s bold approach sets the standard.

http://www.salon.com/2015/06/22/this_is_what_a_real_climate_plan_looks_like_martin_omalleys_bold_approach_sets_the_standard/

[Vattel]

13. thank you

[Vattel]

12. thx

[FSogol]

14. Anytime. n/t