THE BACK PAGE: Climate Change in Presidential Politics

How volunteer activists raised issues among candidates

Two years ago, on January 12, 2006, 45 people representing business, conservation, science, and energy interests, as well as federal and state policy-makers convened at St. Anselm's College and mapped out a two-year public education and civic engagement effort on global warming leading up to the NH Presidential Primary.

(AP Photo)
For two years pollsters, political experts and pundits advised us that global warming would not be an issue. We persevered and the institutional members of the Carbon Coalition - from conservation groups to chambers of commerce - worked hard to connect hundreds of citizens with the candidates in every corner of the Granite State to discuss, from different points of view, concerns over global warming impacts and support for responsible solutions.

On January 8, 2008, victors emerged from the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries. Each of the winners is a vocal advocate for climate action. Both call for a nationwide cap on greenhouse gas emissions, both support increased federal funding for clean energy R&D, and both call for the implementation of a post-Kyoto international treaty on climate change.

Because of the hard work and dedication of a statewide cadre of volunteers who stood up and asked candidates to be specific on the issues of global warming, we made sure global warming was an overriding issue within the context of public debate during the NH Presidential Primary cycle.

You didn’t hear it from us:
"The recent Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the latest in a series of reports has certainly had a big impact. Less well known, but possibly just as pivotal in this New England state, is a 2-year campaign by a group of scientists, civic leaders, and environmental activists called the Carbon Coalition."--Science Magazine

"It may be Al Gore's ultimate political triumph: climate change as a key election issue. Everywhere they go throughout the state (NH), candidates from both parties field questions about global warming from voters who are looking for more than just platitudes. They want to hear about cap-and-trade, carbon tax, hybrid cars, and woe to the candidate who tries to side-step the issue. Last spring, 180 out of 234 townships in the state passed a resolution asking the federal government to address climate change. That could result in some raised temperatures for Republicans who are still getting used to the idea that global warming might be real." -- Time Magazine

By Sam Witherbee and Emily Rocheleau, Carbon Coalition Field Organizers