Conservatives Concerned about Climate Change Stepping It Up

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Zachary Shahan

Former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis (who was ousted by the Tea Party) is, as far as I can tell, a true climate hawk. Some of the best speeches I’ve seen on climate change have come from him. Unfortunately, he’s essentially been kicked out of Republican national-level politics as a result of this. But he’s doing all he can to allow more conservatives the space and freedom to educate themselves about global warming and climate change and stimulate action from that side of the aisle. After all, everyone is screwed if we don’t have water to drink, our houses are getting burned down, extremely large megastorms are tearing up our cities, and new diseases are wreaking havoc on society.

Here’s more on his new project, the Energy and Enterprise Initiative (E&EI), a nationwide public engagement campaign, from sister site Red, Green, and Blue:

Sane conservatives want to end climate denial and do something about dirty energy (via Red Green & Blue)

George Mason University announced today the formation of the Energy and Enterprise Initiative (E&EI), a nationwide public engagement campaign led by former Congressman Bob Inglis that will explore and promote conservative solutions to America’s energy and climate challenges. E&EI will operate from…

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Zachary Shahan (2291 Posts)

I'm the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular clean energy website in the world, and Planetsave, a leading green and science news site. I've been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and I've been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, bicycling, and wind energy for the past few years. You can also find my work on Scientific American, Reuters, Think Progress, GE's ecomagination site, several sites in the Important Media network, & many other places. To connect on your favorite social network, go to: zacharyshahan.com

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Captivation

Since the left already understands the science, the issues must now be reframed in ways that appeal to right wing psychology. The rugged individualism of the solar panel needs to be contrasted against domination from the oil industry. Issues of national defense and family values can all be captured within the renewable energy framework. Issues like climate justice, or rainforests will have to take a back seat. Not because they don’t matter, but because the new target audience doesn’t think in those terms.
- Bob_Wallace
  
  That seems about right to me. Emphasize individual freedom from utility companies and from foreign oil. Emphasize saving money.
  
  Best put saving money first…. ;o)
  - Captivation
    
    (We hit the nested reply limit on that thread.)
    You Betcha, she would be a fantastic choice. And I think she would actually do well with movie dialogue. Her delivery is actually pretty good, its only what she delivers that is problematic
    I like the idea that the liberals drive modern cars. But to keep the western ideal in mind, I think the country folk should ride horses. The costumes should also be separated into historic and modern. This would create great cognitive cognitive dissonance as two different eras (not just cultures) are forced to engage. Sarah can ride down from the north in a covered wagon to liberate (err, bestow freedom upon) the suffering townspeople. Then again, if the plot becomes too wacky the target audience will pan it.
    - Bob_Wallace
      
      Not just modern cars. Foreign luxury imports.
      
      And not horses. Good old American Ford trucks. No Government Motor jobs.
      
      If you could avoid closeups on the Tundra Twit while she’s speaking you could get Tina Fay to lip-sync her lines in. (I spelled it lip-sink the first time. Perhaps….)
      
      I think at some point little Timmy has to fall into a well. Except we need to give him a more manly name. Perhaps Mit.., no, that won’t work. Rick! Or Newt. Ricky-Newt?
      
      Chuck Norris could do a cameo and rescue him.
      
      I can see this working.
- Ross
  
  The message needs to come from one of their own. They haven’t bought into those arguments yet.
  
  Whatever about his gun & bible toting beliefs at least Inglis seems to be someone they’ll relate to.
  - http://www.kompulsa.com/ Nicholas
    
    Republicans are more likely to believe republicans, than they are democrats, even if it is something that partially contradicts their republican views.
  - Captivation
    
    Translation software has really advanced over the last few years. I’m sure someone will build an app to facilitate leftspeak -> rightspeak. Even when translating by hand, I’ve had moderate success simply by keeping the syllable count low and throwing in the occasional misspell. And you ain’t seen nothing yet.
    - Ross
      
      The US government needs to find a few tea partiers with solar panels, wind turbines or hydro on their property and threaten to take it away from them. That’d get them worked up.
      - Captivation
        
        Great Idea!. It wouldn’t even have to happen. Just make a movie about it and they’d never know the difference. “Showdown at Windy Ridge”, the newest update to the Western. You’ve got me think’n.
      - Ross
        
        Feed the output of the translation software into a script writing program
      - Bob_Wallace
        
        Let’s write a script.
        
        Group of hardscrabble, gun tottin’ folks pool their retirement money and put a turbine on Windy Ridge.
        
        Turbine starts chopping up a lot of (rock) doves. Evil EPA youngsters pull up in their Lexus SUVs and threaten to pull it down.
        
        We need to write in a grizzly mama as the heroine. I’ve got an idea who could be cast as long as she has no dialogue….
      - http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
        
        Lol, oh my. We’re a blog, so we can just stick a photo of her in there.
      - http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
        
        Lol, you guys are killing me here.
      - http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
        
        Lol. So true!
    - http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
      
      Haha.
- http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  Exactly.
  
  The wind industry has done well with a former Republican governor at the helm of the industry association. Aside from talking their language, she has gotten more opportunities and respect in that arena simply from the label and the connections.
  
  Need more of that. There’s no reason conserving our ability to live on Earth should only be a leftist matter.
vandamme

I’m writing Bob Inglis in for President Nov. 6.
- Bob_Wallace
  
  That’s one less vote Romney has to scrape up….
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Corcoran/1591985520 Jim Corcoran

“As environmental science has advanced, it has become apparent that the human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future: deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilization of communities, and the spread of disease.” Worldwatch Institute, “Is Meat Sustainable?”

“The livestock sector emerges as one of the top contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency.” UN Food and Agricultural Organization’s report “Livestock’s Long Shadow”

“If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains… the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads.” Environmental Defense Fund

Why would someone choose to be vegan? To slow global warming for one! Here are two uplifting videos to help everyone understand why so many people are making this life affirming choice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKr4HZ7ukSE and http://www.veganvideo.org
ThomasGerke

It’s important to understand that it’s not really about left & right,conservatives or liberals, republicans or democrates… it’s about people who are concerned with longterm developements and the future of our children VS people who are caught in day-by-day politics who see their role in politics as representatives of certain economic interessts.

That includes republicans who support the natural gas / oil lobby, but also democrates who are political allies of big coal. Solutions can only arise on the state level in the US or by a bi-partisan efford.

That’s how things got moving in Germany more than a decade ago.

When society & politicans decide to really change the game in favour of renewables / sustainable energy sources one has to understand the consequences.
There is no room for Exxon, Chevron and Big Coal… society basicly decides to end their business. Something that creates massive counter reactions.
Energy4all

Private enterprise can and does drive the market. Given adequate options to choose from consumers can drive the market AND methods to effectively engage in an effetive climate change remediation program. The cleaner options have to be available to them. By allowing for private enterprise to rule the area we could also find ourselves without viable options where a dominant energy method or sector while less desireable has the money to wage a successful campaign of attrition on less establised technologies and those yet to make it off the drawing boards. This sounds good on the surface; but without viable options available very little will really change as private enterprise has already established financial and technical domination in these areas. This program must contain the caveat that NEW Technologies that are better than existing technologies in every respect should supplant existing inferior technologies if through no other means by compliance with EPA Rulings that are in everyones’ best interest from an healthy environment perspective. An irresponsible private enterprise has lead us to the brink of a climate change tipping point as far as I can tell.
ThisOldMan

“Conservatives have the answer to our energy and climate challenge,” Inglis said. “It’s about correcting market distortions and setting the economics right. We need to stop retreating in denial and start stepping forward in the competition of ideas.”That’s odd, because that’s exactly what the majority of so-called liberals who, like me, are scared !$@% by what we’ve already done to our atmosphere, have been saying. But then I don’t really regard myself as a “liberal”, but rather as “progressive”. That is just to contrast myself with the “regressives” (as Robert Reich calls them) who have taken over the House by proclaiming at the top of their lungs that government doesn’t work and are now happily proceeding to prove their point. And as long as that state of the union continues, nothing of substance can or will get done, on carbon pollution or anything else!
- http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  well said.