McCain's Costly Environmental Flip-Flops

Posted by ZP Heller, Meet the Bloggers at 1:00 PM on September 23, 2008.

While soaring gas prices and the energy crisis are major concerns for Americans, this economic debate is inextricably linked to the environment.  How can we get our country off a crippling dependence on costly oil without considering environmentally safe energy alternatives?  This was the topic of Friday's Meet the Bloggers, in which environmental journalist Simran Sethi spoke with show host Cenk Uygur about sustainability, as well as the battle between Big Oil and innovation. 

Sethi addressed the urgent need to create a green economy, and she recommended tapping into the diversity of natural resources in our country.  Sethi suggested that energy independence is possible if adequate measures are taken immediately, which is why the upcoming election is all the more crucial. 

Friday's show came in conjunction with the launch of our video, McCain's Green Economy: Drill, Baby, Drill, which we partnered with the League of Conservation Voters to produce.  As the title suggests, Drill, Baby, Drill reveals McCain's deep ties to Big Oil.  Specifically, McCain has over 22 Big Oil lobbyists advising him, and he received over $1 million dollars from Big Oil for his recent flip-flop on off-shore drilling.  But as Meet the Bloggers guests Kevin Grandia (DeSmogBlog.com), Brad Johnson (ThinkProgress.org) and Kate Sheppard (Grist.org) pointed out, McCain's abysmal environmental record goes far beyond his recent flip-flops.

The LCV gave McCain a lifetime score of just 24 percent out of 100 (compared to Obama's 96 percent score).  That's because McCain has repeatedly shown disdain for renewable energy programs and attempts to improve fuel efficiency standards.  He stands firmly with President Bush in supporting tax breaks for Big Oil and nuclear companies.  And the McCain-Bush measures to reduce emissions will be completely insufficient in averting global warming.

These are the reasons we created Drill, Baby, Drill and dedicated an entire episode of Meet the Bloggers to this subject.  We must dispell the myths about McCain when it comes to the environment, and we must do it now, before it's too late.

Meet the Bloggers airs Fridays at 1pm ET/10am PT. Catch all the episodes on http://meetthebloggers.org/

Tagged as: environment, oil, gas, big oil, barack obama, john mccain, coal, wind, ethanol, brave new foundation, 2008 election, green economy, robert greenwald, offshore drilling, cenk uygur, solar energy, meet the bloggers, kevin grandia, simran sethi, kate sheppard, brad johnson

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.