Welcome to Exact Solar’s ‘How Green is the 2016 Presidential Election?’ series! Check out the Introduction Post for more information and be sure to check back tomorrow for another candidate! Today’s question: How Green is Lindsey Graham?
The Nation, a weekly political magazine, and 350 Action have teamed up and asked major political candidates in the Democratic, Republican and Green parties to “neither solicit nor accept campaign contributions from any oil, gas or coal company.”
We know that it’s early in the 2016 presidential race, but this election has the potential to truly revolutionize energy in America. We at Exact Solar feel that politics are at the heart of the green movement. So we are going to do all of the dirty work and research for you to provide you with the breakdown of the greenest and not-so-eco-friendly candidates so far.
The Nation and 350 Action did not receive any replies from the 14 Republican candidates that were contacted. But that’s not very surprising, considering that all of them except one completely deny that humans have an effect on climate change.
Senator Lindsey Graham, the outlier among other Republican candidates, has expressed being in favor of addressing “climate change [and] CO2 emissions in a business-friendly way.”
In a recent interview on Late Night, host Seth Meyers asked Graham if he is surprised by his fellow Republicans’ denial. “I know I’m not a scientist,” Graham says, “but here’s the problem I’ve got with some people in my party: When you ask the scientists what’s going on, why don’t you believe them? If I went to 10 doctors and nine said, ‘Hey, you’re gonna die,’ and one says ‘You’re fine,’ why would I believe the one guy?”
So all in all, if you’re looking for a Republican candidate to fight climate change and support clean energy, you’re looking at a difficult task. How Green is Lindsey Graham? Graham may be your best bet for a ‘green’ candidate in the 2016 election.