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Both parties plan green conventions |
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By Ian Swanson
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Posted: 06/15/07 07:50 PM [ET] |
Democrats and Republicans are both planning to hold “green” national political conventions next year, partly to win over environmentally minded voters who could be influential in determining control of the White House and Congress.
The interest in greening political conventions, from buying confetti made from recycled paper to purchasing carbon offsets to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions, shows the increasing relevance to both parties of appealing to voters mindful of global warming.
“Environmentalism is once again being recognized as a mainstream issue by both parties,” said Jeremy Symons of the National Wildlife Federation.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper have both committed themselves to making the 2008 Denver convention the most eco-friendly Democratic convention ever, sources said.
“We’re trying to advance the ball in terms of showing what our concerns are and put our money where our mouth is,” said Leah Daughtry, chief executive officer for the Democratic convention.
Although plans are still in the initialstages, Democrats are already requiring that firms competing to provide transportation for the convention offer flex-fuel hybrid vehicles to carry delegates and media from hotel to convention center. And for the first time ever, Democrats are handling housing reservations for the convention entirely online, which Daughtry said could save 50,000 sheets of paper.
The DNC is also talking to official airline partners about incorporating into a contract an agreement that would allow the airlines or passengers to purchase carbon offsets to reduce the carbon footprint of the convention. About 35,000 people are expected to attend the convention, producing an enormous amount of carbon emissions on flights to Denver.
“You can make a lot of speeches, but in the end, you’ve got to back up the words,” Daughtry said of the effort. “We’re trying to demonstrate it’s about actions.”
While some prominent Republicans have continued to question the existence of global warming, the Republican National Committee is also planning to make its convention in the Twin Cities as energy-efficient as possible, according to RNC spokesman Chris Taylor.
“I don’t think caring about the environment runs on party lines,” Taylor said.
Jeremy Hanson, a spokesman for Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, said that the Twin Cities are among the greenest cities in America, and that local officials in both cities are committed to having an energy-efficient event. “We have no doubt we can have one of the greenest conventions,” Hanson said.
So far, the RNC and Minneapolis-St. Paul appear to be a little behind Denver in planning specific actions for a green convention, but Republican party officials are in talks with U.S. auto companies on providing flex-fuel vehicles to provide transportation, a GOP official said.
Pollster John Zogby described global warming as a “sleeper issue” shortly after the 2006 midterm election. He said the issue was particularly important to Hispanics and voters under 30, with majorities in both groups saying a candidate’s position on global warming was important to their votes.
Several polls over the last few years have also suggested there is bipartisan support for tackling global warming.
An April 2007 poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research for the Center for American Progress concluded that dealing with global warning and reducing foreign energy dependence are increasingly becoming non-partisan issues. In the poll, 67 percent of Democratic respondents said they would favor raising mileage standards for new cars and SUVs over the next 10 years to 40 miles per gallon, along with 74 percent of independents and 60 percent of Republicans.
Sixty percent of Republicans also said they would favor requiring that 25 percent of all electricity in the U.S. come from alternative sources by 2025, along with 64 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of independents. The poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
Symons noted that other polls also suggest that conservative-leaning voters want politicians to tackle global warming. He cited a 2006 National Wildlife Federation poll of hunters and anglers, whom Symons said tend to be conservative, in which 71 percent of respondents said global warming was a threat to fish and wildlife.
In the poll, conducted by Responsive Management, 69 percent said global warming was a threat to humans, and 75 percent strongly or moderately agreed with the statement that Congress should pass legislation that sets a clear national goal for reducing global warming pollution with mandatory timelines. The telephone poll of 1,031 respondents had a 3.05 plus or minus error rate at a 95 percent confidence level.
Another poll conducted earlier this year by Ellison Research found that three out of four evangelical voters support environmental causes such as reducing global warming or protecting wilderness areas from development. The poll found that 54 percent of the 1,000 born-again or evangelical Protestant Christians believe a person’s Christian faith should generally encourage them to support environmental issues.
In Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Democrats and Republicans have chosen host cities known for environmentally friendly policies. All three cities were listed in National Geographic’s Green Guide list of the 25 greenest cities in the U.S., which judged communities based on factors such as air quality, green space and environmental policy.
Hickenlooper said he sees the convention as an opportunity to promote environmental awareness at an event that will be televised nightly and attract 15,000 reporters. “We’re not trying to dictate policy,” Hickenlooper said. “We’re trying to foment serious debate about allocating resources to the issue.”
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