This week’s must read: former Sen. Slade Gorton’s op-ed on Washington State’s carbon tax ballot initiative.
This week’s must listen: Warm Regards Podcast featuring our own Alex Bozmoski talking about the Rise of the Ecoright.
This week in climate change news, Louisiana Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA-6) said climate change “discussions are happening” amongst conservatives and pointed to energy conservation measures as steeped in “Republican ideals.”
“We’re having some meetings that are less formal where people are up for having that discussion,” Graves said, while adding that it’s not “a crowded room” but a starting point. He is committed to pushing for reforms to the federal disaster programs and points to climate denial as an “unsustainable policy position.”
Meanwhile, GOP nominee Donald Trump said millennials should support his candidacy because he wants “clean air… and crystal clean water.”
“Now climate change, some people agree and some people don’t,” Trump said to Bret Baier in a recorded interview on the Fox News Channel. “I consider myself to be somewhat of an environmentalist, believe it or not. But I get tremendous accolades for what I do and the work I do. But we can’t afford to be giving billions and billions of dollars away and restricting our businesses when other countries that we’re competing against don’t have those restrictions.” In regard to climate science, Trump said he’s a “total believer in science but nothing is very conclusive.”
Earning the week’s only red star, Carmel, Indiana Mayor Jim Brainard, whose efforts ClimateEye has featured on more than one occasion, continues to highlight why being a good climate and environmental steward is “very much in line with traditional Republican or conservative principles.”
“We’ve chosen to do things differently here,” he told AlterNet in an interview. “We’ve done wild things hereswitched out our fleets to hybrids, tested hydrogen trucks for snowplows and used LED to light our streetlights. All these things reduce the amount of carbon to help clean up our air. What we’re trying to do is to design a city where less carbon is needed.” Brainard has served as mayor for two decades and has worked toward making the sustainable city, as it expanded from 29,000 residents twenty years ago over near 100,000 today, one that is livable, walkable and bike-friendly. “If you’ve created a city that’s mixed use, that’s fairly dense and doesn’t sprawl out as much, your car trips are shorter. It becomes more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly. You pay attention to alternate modes of transportation,” he said. Brainard is part of the Task Force for Climate Preparedness and Resilience.
Turn your clocks back on Saturday, earning an extra hour until Election Day!