Me and Al Gore

Well, it took a while, but Al Gore, former Vice-President, celebrity movie producer and global warming crusader par excellence, has finally endorsed my campaign.

Of course he doesn’t know that, yet, but by announcing his visionary goal of producing 100% of America’s electricity from renewable, clean energy sources within 10 years, Al Gore has endorsed the main platforms of my campaign for Congress, which calls for government investment in renewable energy to switch from a fossil fuel-powered economy to a renewable energy economy.

I gladly accept Mr. Gore’s endorsement.

And I hope, one day very soon, Mr. Gore will realize that his visionary goals need to go from simply being fine speeches to becoming government policy. And that the only way that will happen is when he and others who believe as he does actively support political candidates who fight for his goals – as opposed to those who would simply share his limelight, all the while supporting the status quo and soliciting money from the very corporations that actively fight against what we want.

For the moment, though, Mr. Gore seems willing to lend his massive popularity to those who would do very little if anything to enact his goals. Consider, for instance, his appearance over the weekend at Netroots Nation, the annual national conference of progressive bloggers. He was introduced by non-other than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who stood on stage and embraced him while he received a raucous standing ovation from the crowd.

But does Speaker Pelosi embrace his goals? When asked whether the Congress she leads would accept Mr. Gore’s challenge, she responded “It is absolutely possible to do so.” How’s that for a purely theoretical conjecture of personal non-commitment? And yet the enduring image is one of Ms. Pelosi in Al Gore’s warm embrace.

I have publicly extolled Al Gore in previous commentaries as the person who, perhaps more than any other on the planet, has labored courageously to focus the world’s attention on the crisis of climate change. That’s still true, but with 10 years left for us to make the radical changes necessary to confront global warming – as Mr. Gore himself says – we must have political leaders who will turn his ideas into policy.

So ask yourself, who would Al Gore – the man who set forth that visionary goal – vote for?

Would he vote for someone who supports a moratorium on dirty, dangerous coal-fired power plants (Gordon Clark), or someone who opposes it (Chris Van Hollen)?

Would he vote for someone who proposes government initiatives to produce gas-free, electric cars (Gordon Clark), or someone who brags about passing a law that requires only a modest increase in car mileage standards, and gives the auto industry 12 years to do it (Chris Van Hollen)?

Would he vote for someone who supports massive federal investment in renewable, clean energy now (Gordon Clark) or someone who supports a complex “cap and trade” scheme with a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80% – 40 years from now (Chris Van Hollen)?

More importantly, who would you vote for?

Because at this point, Mr. Gore should heed the wisdom espoused by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). “Politicians don’t care what you think,” Rep. Frank once dryly observed, “they care how you vote.”

Chris Van Hollen Agrees with Bush – Let’s Burn More Oil!

In 2006 President Bush observed that our nation is “addicted to oil.”  Now, in 2008, my opponent, Chris Van Hollen, is arguing with the president about where we should get our next fix.

After the president’s radio address this past Saturday, in which he urged opening our nation’s coastlines to oil drilling as a solution to high gas prices, Chris Van Hollen responded by saying  “Now let me be clear: Democrats support more drilling.”  The only difference between Bush and Van Hollen, apparently, is whether that drilling happens off our coasts, or in between them.

Both of them are being disingenuous when they suggest that more domestic oil drilling will do anything to reduce current high gas prices, regardless of where that drilling happens.  It would take years before such oil reaches the market, and even then it will do nothing more than replace declining production of other domestic oil sources. Such proposals may further enrich oil companies, but they will do nothing to help struggling Americans now.

And it is outrageous that anyone who claims to be deeply concerned about global warming, as Chris Van Hollen does, is simultaneously promoting the extraction and burning of more oil.

Our current problems stem from the lack of any coherent national energy policy.  There is no ‘quick fix’ for the current price of gas, but there are three things that can be done to immediately stabilize the price and move us forcefully in a new direction.

First, our federal government needs to invest heavily in mass transit and in gas-free, non-polluting electric cars.  Other nations have such alternatives, why don’t we?

Second, we must stop threatening to start a war against Iran.  Such instability in the Middle East is a primary cause of oil speculation, which directly raises prices at the pump.  Regrettably, Chris Van Hollen helped raise gas prices last month when he co-sponsored the reactionary House Concurrent Resolution 362, which urges the president to establish a blockade of Iran.

Third, we need a national energy policy that moves us quickly and decisively from a fossil fuel economy to a renewable energy economy.  Once again, why are other nations doing this, while our government is not?

The last thing we need now is a debate between the president and Congress about where to do more oil drilling.  If you agree with me about the path out of our current energy crisis, and want to help change the climate in Congress, please visit our campaign at clarkforcongress.net.

Marching on the 4th of July

Marching in the Fourth of July parade in Takoma Park, Maryland is a wonderful experience, and truly a slice of what small town American life can and should be like.

Everyone comes out – it seems half the town participates in the parade while the other half watches it. They bring out the fire engines, the police force on motorcycles, the local elected officials in vintage cars, the marching bands, the clowns, the Girl Scouts and local elementary school clubs. There were local high school marching bands, Caribbean and Bolivian dance troups, and steel drum bands from Trinidad and Tobago. And since this is Takoma Park and Montgomery County, we also got the “Dog Training Marching Drill Team,” “Casinos for Takoma Park” (not everyone seemed to get the joke), and the “Lawn Mowers Against Global Warming” – a group of neighbors doing precision drills with their manual mowers.

While our campaign was not officially allowed in the parade – something about the parade committee not wanting it to be a “political” event, even though Chris Van Hollen was allowed to march while his staff handed out “Re-elect Chris Van Hollen” materials on the sidewalks – a group of eight volunteers joined me as we worked the crowds along those same sidewalks. I shook hundreds and hundreds of hands and we handed out more than a thousand “Clark for Congress” rally fans and flyers. With music and dancing and great floats, it was a truly a fun filled and joyous event, and a great time was had by all.

Except, apparently, by Rep. Van Hollen. He seemed like one of the very few unhappy people I met that day.

I was shaking hands on Maple Ave. when I was told that he was coming up behind me. I turned to meet him – was it my imagination that he seemed to be taking “evasive maneuvers?”  When we finally confronted each other, I stuck out my hand, and gave him a big smile. “Hey Chris!” I said enthusiastically, “it’s Gordon Clark. You know that I’m running for Congress this fall, and I’m looking forward to some spirited debates on the issues!”

Chris initially shook my hand – it becomes reflexive when you’re running for office – glanced at me for a second, and then turned and walked away without saying a word. Can you believe it? Not a simple “We’ll see what we can do” or a “How are you doing, Gordon?” or even a “Have a great Fourth of July!” Just turns and walks away.

Nor was the experience mine alone. At least two other supporters of our campaign told me later that they had met him on the parade, and when they urged him to take part in public debates, he turned and walked away – again, without saying a word.

Perhaps Chris Van Hollen had a bad hot dog earlier in the day?

Regrettably, his actions are similar to those of many elected officials, who feel that once they’re elected they can ignore the issues, their constituents, and especially any challengers. He has also (so far) refused offers of candidate forums from local civic and advocacy groups, and his actions are a metaphor for a larger system, including the mainstream press, that actively works to shut out any nettlesome challengers, and to strictly limit public debate on the issues. Just ignore them, seems to be the theory, and they will go away.

Well, this campaign ain’t going away. This campaign is as serious as a melting glacier and a $5 gallon of gas, and if Chris Van Hollen believes he can ignore public debate of the critical issues in an election year, he’s got another thing coming.

The July 4th parade is just the beginning – help us make this campaign happen! Go to the volunteer page and let us know how you can take part! With thanks to the Clark for Congress volunteers and to all the great Americans who work to secure the blessings of liberty, not just on July 4th and not just for ourselves, but every day of the year and for generations to come.

Watching the Polar Ice Caps Disappear

The weather is getting weirder and weirder. Or, as my friend Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network calls it, unrecognizable. It’s also getting deadlier. Huge numbers of tornadoes and “wind events” have swept through ever larger parts of the country this spring, killing people and destroying trees and property – including right here in Maryland. Record “1,000 year” floods have hit the Midwest this spring, killing people and destroying billions of dollars of farmland and property. Now more than one thousand wildfires have broken out in California, the result of lightning strikes in tinder dry forests. Hundreds of people in the state’s central valley are filling hospitals due to smoke and soot inhalation.

“What we are experiencing is way out of historical norms,” said Shawn Ferreria, a senior air quality specialist for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control Distict.

That is what you hear over and over if you listen to the news about the climate changes we are experiencing across the country, and the world. “Record-breaking.” “Unprecedented.” “Never seen anything like it – lived here all my life, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Perhaps most disturbing of all is the news this past week that scientists think there is a 50-50 chance the Arctic Ocean will be completely free of ice this summer –- for the first time in human history.

It’s hard to imagine what this most look like. Check out this 30 second NASA animation, and you will get a very, very clear idea:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/10/19/VI2007101902050.html

It is hard to know how to respond, even what to feel, in the face of such events. What is clear is that the crisis of climate change is not only real, it is advancing much, much faster than we previously understood, or have been led to believe. It was only one year ago that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the Arctic might be free of ice by 2050-2070. Twelve months later, it might be free of ice by this summer –- 2008.This campaign for Congress is to a large degree focused on the crisis of global warming and climate change, a crisis that will have – and is already having – a profound and potentially disastrous effects on the environment, our economy, and everything we hold dear.

This campaign is proposing specific initiatives to respond to climate change, starting with a massive, federally-led conversion to a green, renewable energy economy. This needs to become our New Deal, Marshall Plan, and Apollo Project all rolled into one.

Now is the time to respond.

Join us in making it happen!