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Where do the U.S. Senate candidates stand on global warming?April 27, 2010 at 1:23 pm by Brian Lockhart
Earth Day was last week and Connecticut’s favorite “independent Democrat” U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Stamford is working to salvage a tri-partisan climate/energy bill down in Washington D.C.
No time like the present to find out where some of the individuals vying to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd stand on climate change/global warming.
Here’s a hint. Whatever your personal belief, there’s a candidate for you…
Connecticut buys into global warming, but some Senate candidates do not
Brian Lockhart, Staff Writer
One might assume that, regardless of party, the candidates vying to replace Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd believe global warming presents a real threat, and human actions are at least partially to blame.
While the topic may be debated at the national level, Connecticut and its lawmakers, both state and federal, Republicans and Democrats, have been at the forefront of combating climate change.
“It’s hard to argue that our climate isn’t changing,” said state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, ranking Republican on the Legislature’s Environment Committee. “The evidence is overwhelming that the things we have done as humans through pollution … have done significant damage to our climate.”
And Quinnipiac University has never considered a poll on the topic in Connecticut because, polling director Douglas Schwartz said, “I haven’t seen it become an issue.”
But Hearst Connecticut Newspapers recently asked several of the candidates for Dodd’s seat where they stand on the issue, receiving mixed responses.
Of the three major Republicans who want to replace Dodd, only former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons was willing to side with the science supporting global warming — although he offered an olive branch to nonbelievers.
“Rob Simmons believes the preponderance of evidence suggests that global warming is occurring and human beings are contributing to it,” campaign manager Jim Barnett said. “He also understands there are skeptics and believes we should continue reviewing the science. He believes we must take a balanced approach which errs on the side of caution and protecting the environment which can be done in a way that improves our economy and creates jobs, rather than killing jobs.”
Republican Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO who is self-financing an aggressive first-time bid for public office, is on the fence but agrees there is a need to “wean ourselves off foreign oil and reduce our carbon footprint.”
“Linda believes that clearly there is conflicting science on both sides of this issue,” McMahon spokesman Ed Patru said. “But we can all agree that we have to continue to develop new and cleaner sources of energy for a number of reasons. First, fossil fuels are a finite resource; second, dependence on foreign oil creates national security vulnerabilities; third, there is tremendous economic potential in the next generation of energy development.”
Peter Schiff, an economist and author, in a statement called climate change and global warming “more fiction than fact.”
“A large body of climate change data was recently called into question and I think scientists have to reprove that climate change exists and negatively impacts our environment,” Schiff said. “Without new data and new proof, it’s just another way for those in Washington to justify more government spending and less freedom.”
Neither of the Democrats in the race, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and businessman Merrick Alpert, expressed any doubt that global warming is a threat.
“Human activity is adversely impacting our environment. Cars and factories are spewing carbon into the atmosphere, causing global climate change. Industrial farming is sapping the riches from the soil and fouling waterways. Diverse industrial activity is dirtying our air,” Alpert said. “We need to confront such environmental challenges, not deny them.”
And Blumenthal not only called climate change “a serious concern supported by scientific evidence,” but he also noted his office’s efforts to fight polluters and enforce lax federal enforcement of environmental policies.
Global warming skeptics are in the minority in Connecticut state government, judging by recent bipartisan policies supported by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell; her predecessor, Republican John G. Rowland; the Democratic majority Legislature; and the state Department of Environmental Protection,
The state has a Governor’s Steering Committee on Climate Change and an official “climate change website” boasting 17 related initiatives, and it became one of the nation’s first to adopt a “cap and trade” program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“I moved to Connecticut in 2003 from Pennsylvania to work on global warming because it was really the only state in the country doing anything about it,” said Roger Smith, campaign director for Clean Water Action. “I heard Linda McMahon talk about `We don’t really know what’s causing global warming.’ To me, it’s disappointing. In Connecticut, global warming has not been a partisan issue.”
State Rep. Bill Hamzy, R-Terryville, a member of the Energy and Technology Committee, said he accepts climate change but does not believe human actions have played a role.
“But it’s safe to say the Legislature and governor certainly do,” Hamzy said.
Hamzy said he would like to see a poll on the issue in Connecticut; he said he believes there are plenty of skeptics in the state.
Although the topic may arise during the U.S. Senate race, Hamzy said he does not believe it will ultimately register with voters in 2010.
“It’s taxes, the economy, jobs,” Hamzy said.
http://blog.ctnews.com/politicalcap...-s-senate-candidates-stand-on-global-warming/
Earth Day was last week and Connecticut’s favorite “independent Democrat” U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Stamford is working to salvage a tri-partisan climate/energy bill down in Washington D.C.
No time like the present to find out where some of the individuals vying to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd stand on climate change/global warming.
Here’s a hint. Whatever your personal belief, there’s a candidate for you…
Connecticut buys into global warming, but some Senate candidates do not
Brian Lockhart, Staff Writer
One might assume that, regardless of party, the candidates vying to replace Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd believe global warming presents a real threat, and human actions are at least partially to blame.
While the topic may be debated at the national level, Connecticut and its lawmakers, both state and federal, Republicans and Democrats, have been at the forefront of combating climate change.
“It’s hard to argue that our climate isn’t changing,” said state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, ranking Republican on the Legislature’s Environment Committee. “The evidence is overwhelming that the things we have done as humans through pollution … have done significant damage to our climate.”
And Quinnipiac University has never considered a poll on the topic in Connecticut because, polling director Douglas Schwartz said, “I haven’t seen it become an issue.”
But Hearst Connecticut Newspapers recently asked several of the candidates for Dodd’s seat where they stand on the issue, receiving mixed responses.
Of the three major Republicans who want to replace Dodd, only former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons was willing to side with the science supporting global warming — although he offered an olive branch to nonbelievers.
“Rob Simmons believes the preponderance of evidence suggests that global warming is occurring and human beings are contributing to it,” campaign manager Jim Barnett said. “He also understands there are skeptics and believes we should continue reviewing the science. He believes we must take a balanced approach which errs on the side of caution and protecting the environment which can be done in a way that improves our economy and creates jobs, rather than killing jobs.”
Republican Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO who is self-financing an aggressive first-time bid for public office, is on the fence but agrees there is a need to “wean ourselves off foreign oil and reduce our carbon footprint.”
“Linda believes that clearly there is conflicting science on both sides of this issue,” McMahon spokesman Ed Patru said. “But we can all agree that we have to continue to develop new and cleaner sources of energy for a number of reasons. First, fossil fuels are a finite resource; second, dependence on foreign oil creates national security vulnerabilities; third, there is tremendous economic potential in the next generation of energy development.”
Peter Schiff, an economist and author, in a statement called climate change and global warming “more fiction than fact.”
“A large body of climate change data was recently called into question and I think scientists have to reprove that climate change exists and negatively impacts our environment,” Schiff said. “Without new data and new proof, it’s just another way for those in Washington to justify more government spending and less freedom.”
Neither of the Democrats in the race, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and businessman Merrick Alpert, expressed any doubt that global warming is a threat.
“Human activity is adversely impacting our environment. Cars and factories are spewing carbon into the atmosphere, causing global climate change. Industrial farming is sapping the riches from the soil and fouling waterways. Diverse industrial activity is dirtying our air,” Alpert said. “We need to confront such environmental challenges, not deny them.”
And Blumenthal not only called climate change “a serious concern supported by scientific evidence,” but he also noted his office’s efforts to fight polluters and enforce lax federal enforcement of environmental policies.
Global warming skeptics are in the minority in Connecticut state government, judging by recent bipartisan policies supported by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell; her predecessor, Republican John G. Rowland; the Democratic majority Legislature; and the state Department of Environmental Protection,
The state has a Governor’s Steering Committee on Climate Change and an official “climate change website” boasting 17 related initiatives, and it became one of the nation’s first to adopt a “cap and trade” program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“I moved to Connecticut in 2003 from Pennsylvania to work on global warming because it was really the only state in the country doing anything about it,” said Roger Smith, campaign director for Clean Water Action. “I heard Linda McMahon talk about `We don’t really know what’s causing global warming.’ To me, it’s disappointing. In Connecticut, global warming has not been a partisan issue.”
State Rep. Bill Hamzy, R-Terryville, a member of the Energy and Technology Committee, said he accepts climate change but does not believe human actions have played a role.
“But it’s safe to say the Legislature and governor certainly do,” Hamzy said.
Hamzy said he would like to see a poll on the issue in Connecticut; he said he believes there are plenty of skeptics in the state.
Although the topic may arise during the U.S. Senate race, Hamzy said he does not believe it will ultimately register with voters in 2010.
“It’s taxes, the economy, jobs,” Hamzy said.
http://blog.ctnews.com/politicalcap...-s-senate-candidates-stand-on-global-warming/
