League of Conservation Voters

Supreme Court Hears Key Global Warming Case

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a key environmental case that could dramatically alter global warming policy in this country. In an effort to help reduce global warming emissions, 12 states, 3 cities and several environmental groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over their refusal to regulate carbon emissions nationwide. Due to the Federal government's alarming lack of leadership on global warming, these states have already taken matters into their own hands. States like Massachusetts and California have begun regulating greenhouse gasses through common sense measures. Their current lawsuit seeks to require the EPA to recognize and regulate greenhouse gasses as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Yet the EPA is claims they do not have the authority necessary to do this. In addition, the EPA argues that states cannot prove they are directly harmed by greenhouse gases, despite recent increases in flooding and other natural disasters that the majority of scientists attribute to global warming.

It is unclear how the Supreme Court will rule on this important case next Spring. However, a decision in favor of the states could require federal government to regulate carbon emissions. In addition, it may help propel a larger discussion, particularly by the 2008 presidential candidates, on how the United States is going to work to stop global warming. This is a case that is being closely watched by states, cities and environmental groups as it will have repercussions for future cases and legislation that seek to regulate global warming emissions in the United States.

With new majorities in the House and Senate and new chairs of important environmental committees, we are likely to see global warming legislation. In fact, incoming Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Senator Barbara Boxer has said addressing global warming emissions is one of her top priorities.

To read more about this case, go here.

-Katie Rodriguez

California Governor Schwarzenegger Discusses Global Warming on Meet the Press

Governor Schwarzenegger was on Meet the Press this past Sunday. While there, he discussed his efforts to curb Global Warming in California and the importance of states playing a role in the fight against Global Warming.

In the interview, Governor Schwarzenegger emphasized his commitment to taking action on global warming, stating, ". . . the science is in, we know the facts. There's not any more debate if there is global warming or not. We have global warming. The fact is we can do something about it, we can slow it down or we can stop it."

In regards to the 2008 presidential elections, Schwarzenegger said he will be looking at candidates who are willing to work to find solutions to Global Warming.

    

            

110th Congress To Take Key Action on Energy in First 100 Hours

Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi has made clean energy a key part of the  "Six for '06" agenda that Democrats plan to accomplish within the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress.  We are encouraged that  the "Six for '06" plan includes repealing tax subsidies for Big Oil, and putting that funding toward increasing renewable energy.

In the recent midterm elections, the American people voted for change - including changing our current backwards-looking energy policies.  As Greenberg Quinlan Rosner found in their post-election survey, the energy issue clearly resonated with voters. By taking action on clean energy during the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress, Speaker-Elect Pelosi is helping set this country on track towards a clean energy future.

Post-Election Survey Shows Energy Played Key Role Among Swing Voters in 2006 Midterms

A national post-election survey conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democracy Corps and the Campaign for America’s Future and analyzed for the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) reveals the integral role of positive, energy-oriented messages in convincing swing voters to vote for sweeping change at the Congressional level.

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner’s analysis found that key voter groups took issue with the Republican leadership’s failure to address America’s energy problems and took those concerns with them into the voting booth on election day:

·    48 percent of swing voters who voted Democratic cited the failure of the Republican leadership to do anything about oil companies and gas prices as their top concern about Republicans – 20 points higher than any other issue.   

·    34 percent of Independents cited Republicans’ failure on oil companies and gas prices as their top concern about Republicans, exceeding any other issue.

·    48 percent of Hispanics cited oil companies and gas prices as their biggest doubts about Republicans this year.  Hispanics favored Democrats by 40 points this year.

·    47 percent of voters under thirty cited Republicans’ failure on energy and gas prices as their top worry about Republicans, 10 points higher than any other issue. 

·    Voters favored Democrats over Republicans by 23 points on which party has new ideas for addressing the country’s problems, a 20-point shift towards Democrats from January 2005.

This survey confirms factually what our people in the field felt viscerally on Election Day.  A positive, forward-looking message on energy played a critical role in helping Democrats convince voters that they offered new ideas. Lawmakers across America should heed this lesson and work to create a new energy economy with secure, good jobs.

The survey included a sample of 2,020 voters nationwide, 1,170 of them from the 50 most competitive swing districts held by Republicans before the election.

To view the Greenberg Quinlan Rosner survey memo, click here.  To view relevant charts, click here.

Major Changes for Senate Environment Committee

Outgoing Environment and Public Works (EPW) Chair Sen. James Inhofe (OK) earned a 2006 LCV Score of 0 percent, with a lifetime score of 5.

Incoming EPW Chair Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA) earned a 2006 LCV score of 100 percent, with a lifetime score of 89.

New leadership in the U.S. Senate will translate into a dramatic shift in policy at the helm of the EPW Committee.  Outgoing Chair Sen. James Inhofe  (OK) routinely put the interests of Big Oil and other polluters ahead of the best interests of our families and our environment.  He pushed for the Bush Administration's radical "Clear Skies" plan to undermine critical public health protections in the Clean Air Act. Sen. Inhofe is perhaps best known for his dogmatic denial of the dangers of global warming, famously calling global warming a "hoax" and this week referring to U.N. climate change talks as "a brainwashing session."

Sen. Boxer has presented a sharply contrasting vision for her tenure as EPW Chair.  Her long history of focusing on children's health and strengthening environmental protections provides a strong foundation for improving public health for all Americans.  Sen. Boxer has championed the Superfund "polluter pays" principle, making polluters clean up their toxic messes.   On the critical issue of global warming, Sen. Boxer backs strong, broad, and mandatory measures to reduce pollution that causes climate change.  Instead of Sen. Inhofe's "hoax," Sen. Boxer views global warming as "the challenge of our generation."

We look forward to Senator Boxer's strong leadership on forward-looking public health and environmental policies in the years to come.   

-Nat Mund

BBC World News Discusses Global Warming in the 110th Congress

LCV's Legislative Director Tiernan Sittenfeld was on BBC World News today to discuss global warming in light of the U.N. conference in Nairobi and the new leadership for the 110th Congress. To watch the interview, click play below.

CNBC Power Lunch Discusses the Role of Energy in the 2006 Elections

LCV President Gene Karpinski was on CNBC's Power Lunch program to discuss the key role energy played in the elections -- and what that will mean for Congress.  Push play below to listen.

The Election and the Environment

Living on Earth had a great piece on the importance the environment played in the election.  In a majority of races in the country, candidates talked about clean energy and those who wanted real change proved to be winners on election night.  To listen to the audio of the show or read the transcript, click here.

LCV Statement on Midterm Results!

LCV President Gene Karpinski issued the following statement on the Midterm Results:

“Today the American public’s vision of a clean energy future that is very different from current policies is a big winner, and Big Oil is a big loser. The voters are usually way ahead of Washington and they proved it again in 2006.

LCV's signature Dirty Dozen program once again targeted anti-environment candidates in races in which we had a serious chance to affect the outcome. This year, we nominated 15 people for the Dirty Dozen. Two - Reps. Delay and Ney -- dropped out before November, and both their seats were lost. Of the thirteen Dirty Dozen members on the ballot yesterday, 9 likely lost, including three of the four races where we spent the most money this fall. Reps. Richard Pombo and Charlie Taylor have been defeated and Senator Conrad Burns is behind in the latest returns. All three played anti-environmental leadership roles.

Of LCV's Environmental Champions, 8 out of 9 won re-election. The public clearly voted for change - and one change at the top of their list was a different approach to solving our energy problems.

This year, clean energy and the creation of a new energy economy was the singular domestic issue that cut across partisan, geographic and demographic lines. American want less dependence on oil and more on American ingenuity and the American work ethic to create new clean energy products and jobs, while at the same time enhancing our national security.

Report from the Field: Colorado

Working in Colorado the last three days has been rewarding.  I work at the staging area in the North metro area.  Yesterday and today we had over 100 people going out knocking on doors and talking to voters.  We talk to voters with mail ballots in their possession.  We leave literature at targeted doors.  Yesterday we had 7,789 voter contacts and today we had over 8,600 contacts.  There are numerous centers such as this all over the state. 

Tomorrow we finish our pass through our 200 targeted precincts and get set up for the final election day push.  The days are long with opening the staging area at 6:30 in the morning and the first wave arriving at 7:30 am.  The last wave returns at 6 pm and we spend the next hour and a half reviewing the work, reporting to central headquarters, determining the priorities for the next day and then setting up everything to be ready to go tomorrow.

I always enjoy knocking on doors and this weekend is no exception.  I think by this time of the election voters are looking forward to election day as much as candidates.  Talking to voters is a good way of taking the pulse of the electorate.  Most people with absentee ballots have returned them.  Part of our conversation is to get mail ballots returned.  They have to be in by 7 pm election night, not just postmarked.

Just got some of the statewide mail and early voting numbers and wanted to share.  These include updated numbers from the big counties, but I’m sure some of the data is still missing.  In 2002 Republicans had 61,400 more absentee ballot requests than Democrats.  This year it’s 43,000.  In 2002 15.8% of D’s voted absentee.  This year it’s 26.5%-- an increase of 68%.  Independent absentee voting rates have doubled from 7.2 to 14.8%.  Republican absentee voting rates are 27.3%--a 41.5% increase from ’02 to ‘06.  When you add in early voting numbers 32.6% of D’s, 30.8% of R’s, and 18.7% of I’s have already voted.  (I don’t have historical numbers on early voting on hand.)

The Denver Election Commission had projected 50,000 absentee voters and 15,000 early voters.  According to today’s update 71,600 absentee ballots have been requested and 24,800 people voted early in Denver.