Climate Change Catching Voter Attention around World

[nam78_two]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1213-05.htm

Climate Change Catching Voter Attention around World
by Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN - "It's the environment, stupid!"

Just as Bill Clinton used the battle cry "It's the economy, stupid!" to keep his 1992 presidential campaign focused, political leaders worldwide are chanting a new mantra based on growing alarm about global warming.

Mainstream parties in Germany, Britain, France, Canada, the United States and Austria believe tackling climate change is a vote winner while established Green parties in Germany and Austria are experiencing a renaissance.

Arnold Schwarzenegger won re-election as California governor in a landslide last month after distancing himself from President George W. Bush, a fellow Republican, and championing measures to cut the state's greenhouse gas emissions.

In Britain, Tony Blair and his probable successor Gordon Brown have made the fight against climate change a priority and the leader of the pro-business Conservative Party, David Cameron, has won over voters by talking up environmental issues.

"Climate change, if presented the right way, is a topic that voters are definitely opening up to," Manfred Guellner, managing director of Germany's Forsa polling institute, told Reuters. "We're seeing you can score points with it.

"Blair has done a good job of showing how leadership on climate change can make a difference. Climate change clearly has 'hot button' potential."

In France, the need for sustainable policies has been embraced by all parties ahead of a 2007 presidential election. Socialist candidate Segolene Royal and her likely rival Nicolas Sarkozy pepper speeches with references to the environment.

In early December, Sarkozy met former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, whose documentary on global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth", has been a surprise box-office winner.

Sarkozy said concern about the environment was not the preserve of traditional green parties.

"Sustainable development and the defence of the environment is a question so fundamental that it can't be the property of one political party, even if it's green in colour," the front-runner for ruling conservative UMP party told parliament.

[Uncle Joe]

1. Thanks for posting nam

:thumbsup:

Kicked and recommended

[nam78_two]

2. Thanks

:)!

[Mabus]

3. K&R

:wow:

This is great. One of the reasons I went to law school and have concentrated most of my pro bono efforts on environmental issues is because of Al Gore's book "Earth in the Balance." It is great that his mantra is now being repeated by world leaders.

[Lisa]

4. Canada -- environment now second only to health care in voter concerns

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/11/08/environment-poll.html

[nam78_two]

5. Thats good to hear

I don't know too much about your politics honestly, but I remember reading in a few odd places that the Canadian liberals were typically not too good on issues related to the environment/conservation. That was back in 02 or 03 though.

[Jcrowley]

6. Thanks for keeping this at the forefront

Don't stop. Times up and folks don't realize it yet. It's way, way, way past time and folks around America are sitting on their hands while the rest of the world cries out for us to ACT UP! Even the stodgy ole naysayers around here are freakin' at the weather we've been experiencing lately.

K&R