Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Primaries Coming Soon

Cartoon by Tom Toles

The Iowa Caucuses are tomorrow, January 3. Soon after, there will be another series of primaries, culminating in a big primary day on February 5. It's hard to believe that we will have nominees from both parties so quickly, but this is an unusual election year.

For whom should birders vote? Our next president needs to make conservation a priority and change the long-standing American opposition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. After the regressive policies of the last seven years, we need significant change to come quickly. Which candidate offers the best hope of doing this remains an open question.

To help answer this question, Nate of The Drinking Bird, assessed each presidential candidate's views on conservation and other bird-related issues. Grist also has some good resources, including fact sheets and interviews for every candidate. The resources at Grist emphasize climate change and energy issues. The League of Conservation Voters has its own assessment.