Hilary Maintains her Climate Silence as O'Malley Pushes his Green Agenda (Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall)

Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley are the three remaining candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president. On January 25th they fielded a barrage of questions from voters in a town hall meeting at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, The moderator was CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.

O'Malley emerged from the Iowa Town Hall as the greenest of the three candidates with Sanders trailing some distance behind. O'Malley bluntly stated that "this planet is worth saving," and Sanders reaffirmed his commitment to tackle climate change. Hilary remained silent on climate and clean energy and let her rivals steal the green thunder.

Climate and Energy Excerpts from the Fourth Democratic Primary Debate

Three candidates met for the fourth Democratic debate hosted by NBC News and YouTube and moderated by anchor Lester Holt. The debate took place in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday January 17th. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley were present for the debate. However, except for a passing reference to renewables ("I would work quickly to present to the congress my plans for creating more...clean and renewable energy...") Clinton did not address climate change or energy issues. Hilary's silence on these importance issues in the fourth debate mirrors her strategy in the preceding debate.

Here are the climate and energy remarks made by Sanders and O'Malley during the fourth debate:

Republican Climate Avoidance and the Sixth GOP Debate

Republican candidates for president seem to think that if you ignore the climate crisis American voters won't notice. During the sixth Republican debate there was no mention of climate change or global warming, the COP21 deal, renewable energy, cleantech, or the low carbon economy, and of course nary a word was uttered on emissions or greenhouse gases.

Climate change was a no show in the first Republican debate, the CNBC presidential debate and in the November debate they made their opposition to climate action clear. Republican presidential candidates have stated that they do not believe we should not do anything to combat climate change.

Climate Excerpts from the CBS Democratic Primary Debate

The CBS Democratic Democratic primary debate took place in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday November 14th. Here are the climate related excerpts from that debate. The moderator for the debate was CBS News political director John Dickerson. Hilary Clinton summarized the field of Democratic candidates for President when she said, "All of us believe climate change is real."

Canadian Minister Attacks Leading Climate Scientist

Canada's natural resources minister Joe Oliver is stepping up personal attacks against climate scientists. Oliver may be feeling insecure about the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline in the wake of the release of a recent EPA report that clearly outlines many concerns with the pipeline project which if completed will ferry unprecedented amounts of carbon-heavy tar sands bitumen from Alberta to Texas. In the face of a scientific consensus and growing popular support for efforts to combat global warming, Oliver appears to be pulling out all the stops to sell his government's support for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project.

During a visit to a Washington DC Thinktank, Oliver lambasted NASA climatologist James Hansen, saying he should be "ashamed" of his warnings about the dangers of the tar sands and his opposition to the Keystone XL.

For more than a quarter century Hansen has been raising public awareness about climate change, more recently he has been focusing his efforts on opposing the Keystone XL. However, Oliver told the audience at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, "this is exaggerated rhetoric. It's frankly nonsense. I don't know why he said it but he should be ashamed of having said it."

Canada's Leader of the Official Opposition on the Keystone XL Pipeline

Thomas Mulcair is the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the official opposition in Canada's federal parliament appears to be of two minds on the Keystone XL pipeline. He is a lawyer, university professor, and politician. Mulcair is a NDP Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Outremont in Quebec since 2007, he was selected as the leader of the New Democratic Party on March, 2012, with 57 percent of the votes on the fourth and final ballot. Mulcair succeeded the late Jack Layton.

Previously Mulcair was a member of the Liberal Party of Quebec where he was the provincial Member of the National Assembly (MNA) of Quebec for the riding of Chomedey in Laval from 1994 to 2007. He served as the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks from 2003 until 2006, in the Liberal government of Premier Jean Charest. Elected MP for Outremont in a by-election in 2007, he was named Deputy Leader of the New Democratic Party, jointly with Libby Davies, shortly afterwards, and has won re-election twice.

Canada's Hopes for an Environmentally Friendly Federal Leadership Now Rest with Justin Trudeau

The federal Liberals officially named 41 year old Justin Trudeau as their new leader on Sunday April 14, 2013.  The ruling Conservatives are telling Canadians that they have to make a choice between the economy and the environment, Trudeau believes this is a false choice.

Justin believes that the Conservative doctrine of forcing Canadians to choose between the economy and the environment is reckless and dangerous.

As he explains in his website, "Instead, it is increasingly obvious that a healthy economy is dependent on a healthy environment, and the two will thrive resiliently if we engage in responsible actions based on long-term thinking."

Justin won the support of about 80 per cent of Liberals who gave him an overwhelming first-ballot victory, 45 years to the month after his father took the same position. Justin is the eldest son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre E. Trudeau.

Election 2012: Implications for Coal and Natural Gas

The reelection of President Obama has already sent a message that is impacting the coal industry and it is likely that investors will be more wary of natural gas pending a review. Well ahead of more stringent regulations on the coal industry investors are already seeing the writing on the wall and divesting from this dirty source of energy.

As reviewed in the Washington Post, coal's stock valuations have been directly impacted by Obama's reelection. On the day after the election, shares of Peabody Energy fell 9.6 percent, Arch Coal plunged 12.5 percent, Consol Energy dropped 6.1 percent, and Alpha Natural Resources sank 12.2 percent.

Election 2012: A Mandate for Action on Climate Change

Although not everyone agrees, some environmentalists see the election of 2012 as an endorsement of action on climate change. As reported in a Guardian article, "activists say that it would be wrong to read the election as a stamp of approval for four more years of business as usual. They argue that voters have sent a clear signal that they want more aggressive action on the environment during the president's second term."

Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp is amongst those environmentalists who say that the election provides a mandate for aggressive action on climate change. After the election Krupp issued a statement on Wednesday November 7 saying:

The 2012 US Election Saw the Rise of Environmentalists as a Political Force

Environmentalism has been around for decades, but in 2012, despite a highly polarized electorate and a lack of formal discussion on climate change, environmentalists have emerged as a political force to be reckoned with.

As reviewed in the Washington Post, in the election of 2012, the environmental community played a key role in several stated including "New Mexico, Montana, Texas and other states, winning seven of eight targeted Senate races and at least three targeted House races."

A lot of money was spent by a number of different groups but even the fossil fuel industry was forced to concede that environmental groups appear to have invested their money wisely.

Taking Stock of President Obama's Environmental Efforts

On Tuesday September 4, 2012, Democrats opened their national convention by defending President Obama’s record and asking Americans to be patient. In their first four years in office, the Obama administration’s green efforts have been resisted by unprecedented Republican obstructionism and an electorate misinformed about the science of climate change. Others have criticized Obama for not doing enough to move the green agenda forward.

Despite a highly polarized political landscape, Obama has accomplished a great deal on energy and the environment. President Obama has worked to advance green jobs, electric vehicles, conservation, clean energy and efficiency.

Obama Addresses Solutions to Climate Change Long Before Becoming President (Video)

Although President Obama addressed the topic of climate change in a recent MTV interview, he has taken a lot of heat from environmentalists for his failure to address the issue in the 2012 presidential debates. However, Obama has been a stalwart supporter of the environment for years, long before becoming President. As revealed in this video, when Obama was a Senator he boldly advocated for action on climate change. These statements were well ahead of the vast majority of his peers and the American public. While some are concerned that the President has abandoned his stance on climate change, it is more likely that he is playing it smart in a highly partisan and contentious election cycle, where many Americans have succumbed to misinformation.

US Presidential Elections 2012: President Obama Addresses Climate Change (Video)

Environmentalists who were bitterly disappointed that climate change was not on the radar in the 2012 presidential elections will be pleased to note that President Obama has finally broached the topic. On October 26, President Obama addressed the topic in an interview by MTV. In fairness, Obama had previously mentioned green energy and green jobs in the first debate. In the same debate Republican nominee Mitt Romney lied about the success of green jobs to undermine the President's record. However, none of the debates made any mention of climate change.

Why President Obama was Unable to do More on the Environment (Video)

Although President Obama has done more to reduce America's climate change impacts than any president in US history, many wish he would have done far more. Anyone who wants to know why the US has not made more progress advancing efforts to address climate change need only take a look at this video. As seen in this clip President Obama is laughed at during his state of the union address after referring to the "overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change". Further progress on the environment is attributable to the astounding failure of many in Congress to accept the facts about climate change.

President Obama Addresses Climate Change at the UN (Video)

"The threat from climate change is serious it is urgent and it is growing. our generations response to this challenge will be judged by history. For if we fail to meet it boldly and swiftly and together we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe....The time we have to reverse this is running out, and yet we can reverse it."

President Obama Spells out his Climate Change Agenda Before Taking Office (Video)

At the 2009 conference of US governors, then President-elect Obama made the case for addressing climate change. Although he promised to open a new chapter on climate change, the President was soon confronted by obstructionism from Republicans and resistance from some Democrats.

Video: Newt Gingrich & Nancy Pelosi Ad to Combat Climate Change

Before Newt Gingrich was running for the GOP presidential nomination he was a leading advocate to combat climate change. This ad is part of the "We Can Solve It" global warming ad campaign sponsored by former Vice President Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection.

Video: Newt Gingrich on Climate Change "The Evidence is Sufficient"

Before running for President, Newt Gingrich was an advocate supporting efforts to combat climate change. In this video he is seen saying, "the evidence is sufficient...to move towards most effective possible steps to reduce carbon loading." He even talked about the need for "green conservatives." He also addressed Republican concerns about big government but he went on to say that we need to discuss "whats the most effective way to solve it rather than get into a fight about whether or not to solve it."

Huntman's Belief in Science Was His Undoing

Utah governor Jon Huntsman's Presidential campaign came to an end when he said, ‘I respect science.’ This is political suicide for anyone seeking the GOP presidential nomination.

Failed GOP 2012 Presidential Candidates on Climate Change

Republican's confusion on climate change is well known, but this ignorance is not only a defining feature of those left in the GOP presidential race, it also applies to those who dropped out. Here are the views of three Republican candidates who are not longer in the 2012 race. At one time these candidates were viewed as the most promising contenders for the Republican nomination for President. The list of failed popular contenders includes Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, and Herman Cain.