John McCain gave a campaign speech in New Jersey today in which he touched on environmental issues and talked up his record in that area. “There is no doubt our environment is globally challenged,” McCain said in a stop at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J. “I’m proud of my environmental record.”
But as some enviros in the state were quick to point out, that record is mixed at best (take, for example, his lifetime League of Conservation Voters score of 24 percent and his 2007 score of zero). “His words say one thing, his record puts him in lockstep with the Bush administration and its dismantling of environmental programs,” New Jersey Sierra Club director Jeff Tittel told Newsday.
The speech today was the first of several environmental addresses planned over the next week. On Monday, McCain is slated to give a big speech at Vestas Energy, which manufactures wind turbines, in Portland, Ore. He’s expected to discuss climate change and the need to reduce dependence on carbon-based fuels. On Tuesday, there are several events planned in the Seattle area, including a roundtable with local leaders and a hike of Rattlesnake Mountain, according to reports. Grist will have more McCain’s green week as it develops.
