Here's the audio file (MP3/17.0MB/1:14:27) for this session: Download PlenaryElection2008
By Christopher Cox
Moderator and 2008 Stolberg Award Recipient Margie Kriz began discussion by asserting that the 2008 election has included more mention of energy and environmental issues than any in her lifetime.
Congressman Nick Rahall of West Virginia fielded questions on the recent lift on the off-shore drilling moratorium, assuring the audience that the compromise still requires individual state and environmental regulatory approval before drilling begins.
Dave Jenkins, the government affairs director for Republicans for Environmental Protection, spoke on behalf of John McCain and provided a record of Senator McCain’s commitment to curbing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
The Sierra Club’s director of Global Warming and Energy Program, David Hamilton, asserted that while John McCain’s support for renewable energy and a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions looks environmentally friendly, it lacks the depth included in the plans of his opponent, Senator Barack Obama. Hamilton advocated for the Democratic nominee’s platform because it internalizes economic, energy, and environmental concerns in terms of the over-arching goal of creating a “green” economy. The panelists provided insight on the Presidential candidates’ views as they addressed the audience’s questions which ranged from Senator McCain’s choice of Governor Sarah Palin (a newly converted believer in global warming) as his Vice Presidential nominee, to the varying definitions of “clean coal.” What the panelists did agree on was the fact that the 44th President will have a very different perspective on environmental concerns than the current administration.
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