Catch Up With Tuesday's Enviro Action At The DNC

Energy policy and climate change were some of the main topics at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. Huffington Post and Grist blogger Kate Sheppard reflects on Hillary's energy conscious speech.

Hillary Clinton gave her much-anticipated convention speech this evening, to a very excited crowd. Seems everyone in the room had a "Hillary" sign, and the cheers were deafening.

She said a lot of good stuff about climate and energy concerns, but I couldn't quite get all of it. But cheers for these issues making it into a speech in which she's trying to encompass a broad range of issues. I'll add some of they key points when I track down the full text of the speech.

In her speech, Senator Clinton stressed the importance of energy challenges along with affordable health care, the war in Iraq and national employment.

I ran for President to renew the promise of America. To rebuild the middle class and sustain the American Dream, to provide the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford the gas and groceries and still have a little left over each month.

To promote a clean energy economy that will create millions of green collar jobs.[...] We need a President who understands that we can't solve the problems of global warming by giving windfall profits to the oil companies while ignoring opportunities to invest in new technologies that will build a green economy. [...] He'll transform our energy agenda by creating millions of green jobs and building a new, clean energy future.

Sheppard responds to Virginia Senate candidate Mark Warner's speech, which addressed the need for a new focus on the energy problem.

Warner touted his experience in the information technology sector as evidence of the great possibilities if the country concentrates that power on the energy problem. He said that the challenge should be seen as an opportunity for growth, and appealed to a sense of patriotism about the issue.

"[Look at energy.] If we actually got ourselves off foreign oil, we can make our country safer. We'll start to solve global warming," he said. "And with the right policies, within 24 months, we'll be building 100 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrid vehicles right here -- with American technology and with American workers."

Montana governor Brian Schweitzer contrasted McCain and Obama's energy policies.

"At a time when American families are struggling to keep their gas tanks full, John McCain voted 25 times against renewable energy, biofuels, solar energy. He even voted against wind energy," said Schweitzer. "At a time when Americans should be working even harder on new sources of energy, John McCain wants more of the same." [...] "There just isn't enough oil in America -- on land or offshore -- to meet America's energy needs. Barack Obama understands that the most important barrel of oil is the one you don't use."

He praised Obama's plan as comprehensive, calling for investment in improving fuel efficiency and creating plug-in hybrids. He's also a big supporter of coal, and made sure to throw in a shout-out for the industry: "Clean coal, solar ... we need them all."

Related:

::Hillary Clinton's Democratic Convention speech: video, text from the Huffington Post
::Read Mark Warner's Democratic Convention speech on the Huffington Post
::Watch Brian Schweitzer's speech on the Huffington Post
::Read more at the Huffington Post Democratic Convention big news page

Comments

[Darkdonnie]

Anecdotal story:
The "greenest convention" A news reporter noticed all the trash bins marked one for compostables one for recyclables and one for plain trash. On the next morning all three were being dumped into the same bin. I don"t know hypocritical maybe but definitely unintelligent (stupid)! Also 12 plus hours after everyone had left the largest video screens ever at convention were still on I guess so the clean up crew could see. We need more oil just to keep their lights on.
Goes to "do as I say not a I do" and elitism doesn"t it?

[kraemer]

Another unflattering photo of Hillary Clinton.

Why?

Seems to be a pattern.

[coldshot]

I know just what you mean! It's not hard to find photos of Hillary that show her beauty. Here is one example. http://www.thekooksoasis.com/gallery/albums/Images/New-Hillary.jpg