Dean and the environment..

[Epoch]

Hey all,
I have recently been debating the merits of supporting Dean. One of the most critical issues to me is a candidates environmental record. I know Kerry has a pretty strong record, but Dean's seems fairly ambiguous. Will he or won't he sign Kyoto? Will he or won't he support raising the mpg standards on cars, SUV's and light trucks. As governor he set aside land for conservation, but will he do the same for our national forests but let loggers, snowmobiles, and oil drilling companies come in to clear out swaths of land. Will he stop clear cutting forests, and lopping off mountain tops for mining? Will he support the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act? Will he oppose drilling in the ANWR? And will he halt all of the rollbacks that Bush has initiated? His website sounds like it's what I want to hear but it seems to be missing something...and then again it is still a campaign website. I've also heard alot about his environmental record as being quite poor, as in the Sierra Club wouldn't even endorse him.


If you know anything about Dean's environmental record and his interactions with big industry and power plants, please let me know.

Thanks for your help!
Epoch

[Kolesar]

1. The Sierra Club has not endorsed Howard Dean

Well, that is not surprising. There are six other candidates that the club has not endorsed, either. It is still early in the nominating process, and endorsements, if any, are forthcoming.

Consider that the AFL-CIO has not endorsed their obvious candidate, Richard Gephardt yet, either.

[Epoch]

2. what's in a name...

or endorsment. It's still early for those but I want to know about his record or what he supports at least (as weird as that sounds). At least I can verify Kerry, Lieberman, Graham, Edwards, et al. voting records on the web. Dean is a little harder to track down. Got any info post it here. Thanks!
Epoch

[Stoic]

3. Dean has a PDF on his environmental positions.

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/DocServer/deanforamerica_earth_day.pdf?docID=181

[Epoch]

4. gracias

thank you. I'm still looking on the web for more and i've contacted www.deanforamerica.com to get some more hard info, but this is a great start!

Thanks!
Epoch

leaning more towards dean, even if he is centrist

[CatholicEdHead]

5. Compare Kuninich vs Dean

At this web page:
http://www.bobharris.com/kucinichdean.html

On energy:

Kuninich:
Supports investment in solar, wind, ocean, and other clean energy; risked career to prevent a power monopoly in Cleveland, saving taxpayers over $200 million


Dean:
Supports investment in alternative energy and energy efficiency; however, has sided with Vermont state utilities on most issues

[baby_bear]

6. I ran across this not-very-flattering article about Dean & environment

http://www.counterpunch.org/colby02222003.html

CounterPunch

February 22, 2003

Meet Howard Dean
The Man from Vermont is Not Green (He's Not Even a Liberal)
by MICHAEL COLBY

<snip>
For Vermonters who have seen Howard Dean up close and personal for the last eleven years as our governor, there's something darkly comical about watching the national media refer to him as the "liberal" in the race for the Democratic nomination for president. With few exceptions in the 11-plus years he held the state's top job, Dean was a conservative Democrat at best. And many in Vermont, particularly environmentalists, see Dean as just another Republican in Democrat's clothing.

As the son of a wealthy Long Island family (his father was a prominent Wall Street insider), Dean's used to having his golden path well greased. After dutifully attending Yale and then medical school, Dean looked for a state to launch both a private medical practice and a political career. He chose Vermont as much for its beauty as its lenient mood toward carpet bagging politicians, thus joining Brooklynite Bernie Sanders as a born again Vermonter.
...
"Dean's attempts to run for president as an environmentalist is nothing but a fraud," Smith told Wild Matters. "He's destroyed the Agency of Natural Resources, he's refused to meet with environmentalists while constantly meeting with the development community, and he's made the permitting process one, big dysfunctional joke."

</snip>...much more...

This is disturbing. There is more. I'm just the messenger here, so don't jump on me, please.

s_m

[sandnsea]

7. This is why I always back off from Dean

His words never seem to match his actions. His anti-war stance isn't even all it's cracked up to be. I'm excited to see people mobilizing and getting involved in the primaries, but I just can't trust him.

More from that article:

"Stephanie Kaplan, a leading environmental lawyer and the former executive officer of Vermont's Environmental Board, has seen the regulatory process under Dean become so slanted against environmentalists and concerned citizens that she hardly thinks its worth putting up a fight anymore."

"Under Dean the Act 250 process (Vermont's primary development review law) and the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) have lost their way," contends Kaplan. "Dean created the myth that environmental laws hurt the economy and set the tone to allow Act 250 and the ANR to simply be permit mills for developers."