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Sadly yes, it's still a partisan issue...
I just received my first hard copy of a League of Conservation Voters annual scorecard report, in which every member of the U.S. Congress is assigned a percentage approval rating every year based on thirty-five of the most important environment-related votes, fifteen in the Senate and twenty in the House (actually I don't know, the exact number of votes may vary from year to year). The votes used are chosen carefully so it's pretty clear which side of the issue is pro-environment. For instance, biofuels are a complex issue because if done wrong, they can actually cause a net increase in carbon emissions as well as worsening food security--so LCV picked an amendment to the landmark H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that required the EPA to study and act on some potential problems with the mandate for increased biofuels production. (Four other Senate votes related to H.R. 6 were also on the list, as well as three for the House equivalent, H.R. 3221.)
What's most striking about the numbers is the incredible polarization between the parties on these issues. A noticeable number of Republicans have started to see the light: seven Republicans in the Senate and twenty in the House have scores of at least 50%, and there are even two with perfect approval ratings (Susan Collins, Senator from Maine, and Christopher Shays of Connecticut's 4th district). But there are exactly two Democrats under 50%, not counting another two who missed most of the year due to illness or death: Dan Boren of Oklahoma's 2nd district and Solomon Ortiz of Texas's 27th. And the vast swaths of Republicans with single digits and Democrats with scores over 80% are quite striking. (In case you hadn't heard, McCain got a zero for this year, simply by failing to show up to any of the fifteen Senate votes on the list.)
We may dream of the day when politicians of all stripes come together in the realization that nature is the ultimate basis of all human prosperity. But that day is clearly not today.
What's most striking about the numbers is the incredible polarization between the parties on these issues. A noticeable number of Republicans have started to see the light: seven Republicans in the Senate and twenty in the House have scores of at least 50%, and there are even two with perfect approval ratings (Susan Collins, Senator from Maine, and Christopher Shays of Connecticut's 4th district). But there are exactly two Democrats under 50%, not counting another two who missed most of the year due to illness or death: Dan Boren of Oklahoma's 2nd district and Solomon Ortiz of Texas's 27th. And the vast swaths of Republicans with single digits and Democrats with scores over 80% are quite striking. (In case you hadn't heard, McCain got a zero for this year, simply by failing to show up to any of the fifteen Senate votes on the list.)
We may dream of the day when politicians of all stripes come together in the realization that nature is the ultimate basis of all human prosperity. But that day is clearly not today.