The following piece is produced as part of the Huffington Post's OffTheBus project.
For two days, 500 activists gathered to participate in a conference on global warming. The participants of the "Global Warming & Energy Solutions" conference heard energy policies from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Arizona Senator John McCain, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
We were able to catch-up with the conference on Saturday afternoon at Manchester, New Hampshire's Radisson hotel.
Over the past year, global climate change has become a hot-button issue, in New Hampshire. Last March, 164 towns passed resolutions calling for the federal government to deal with global warming. In addition, the state is home to New England Wood Pellet LLC, which is the one of the largest renewable energy companies in the Northeast.
The main conference room was filled with tables from such groups has the National Wildlife Federation, UBS, Step Up and a variety of other environmental groups.
Outside the conference room, campaign staffers representing Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama staffed campaign tables. However, both candidates did not attend the conference.
Even though he has signaled he has no plans of running for president, a "Draft Gore 2008" group was advocating for the former Vice-President to join the presidential race. During the conference the group, headed by Farrell Seiler of Littleton, was able to gain 60 signatures and was seen wearing large "Draft Gore" buttons.
Quoting former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, John McCain said "Suppose we're wrong, and there's no such thing as greenhouse-gas emissions, and we adopt green technologies. All we've done is give our kids a better planet. But suppose we're right, and do nothing?"
McCain outlined his energy plan, which includes increasing the café standards on cars, more hybrid vehicles, new nuclear plants and a cap-and-trade policy.
The Arizona Senator ended his speech by telling the group that "what you are doing will never be adequately recognized."
Taking a more earth-tone approach, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich quoted Chief Seattle, "The earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth."
Kucinich added that the government should "promote not just policy, but a consciousness that reflects the problem of global warming."
The long-shot Democratic presidential candidate received a thunderous applause when he promised to end oil subsides and would revoke NAFTA.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee took a religious approach and said, "I have a moral obligation to my children that the world is left better off."
Huckabee spend a considerable amount of his time discussing the connection between dependence on oil and American foreign policy.
"We're paying for both sides of this war. We're paying for our side with our tax dollars. We're paying the terrorist side with oil."
Advocating energy independence Huckabee added, "oil has done more than change our foreign policy, it has deformed the policy."
The Baptist minister told the audience that the "rest of the country can learn from the Yankee thrift and ingenuity that you have." Huckabee cited the recent installation of an energy pipeline that will use methane from a dump to supply the UNH-Durham campus with an alternative energy source, as an example of the Granite State leading the way on eco-friendly environmental policies.