'Jobs, jobs and jobs'
In light of that polling and continued grim economic news, it is no surprise that separate campaigns in favor of cap-and-trade legislation carry the same message: Pass a climate change bill and create jobs.
The largest campaign to date has come from a coalition composed of the Environmental Defense Action Fund, United Steelworkers and the Blue Green Alliance. The groups have started running a television, print and online ad campaign in nine states and the District of Columbia that features Braddock, Pa., Mayor John Fetterman, who describes how the former steel town has been decimated by job losses and could recover with increased development of components for alternative energy technologies.
The 30-second ads end with the tagline, "carbon caps = hard hats."
The campaign is expected to cost more than $3 million, and the ads will run through next month.
Additionally, the Blue Green Alliance has launched a television campaign with a roughly similar message across the Midwestern states, featuring workers touting the benefits of green jobs that could be created by "strong climate legislation."
The Alliance for Climate Protection will air radio ads in 15 states – focusing on districts that are represented by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee – that also espouse the benefits of renewable energy. And the Apollo Alliance has started a campaign calling on Congress to include language in either a climate or energy bill this session that provides loans and grants to U.S. manufacturing companies to "retool" their factories to build renewable energy technologies.
All four campaigns, though calling for implementation of a carbon cap, make virtually no mention of the potential environmental benefits of such legislation and frame the issue almost exclusively in relation to job creation.
"The three top priorities for everybody on the Congress right now are job, jobs, and jobs," said Kreindler of the Environmental Defense Fund.
For the moment, environmentalists have the benefit of being mostly alone in ads on climate legislation. Though there are a number of fierce critics of the climate proposal, no group has yet launched a far-reaching campaign specifically designed to oppose the legislation.
"I think they're trying to score as many points as they can up front, and hold on in the fourth quarter," said Chris Tucker of the Institute for Energy Research, which has been critical of both mandatory carbon caps and the idea that they would create "green" jobs.
"They're trying to get folks to talk about it and generally support the idea, but they know it's going to get tougher as it goes on," Tucker added.
GOP's message
Already, House Republicans have built a message surrounding the issue that hinges almost exclusively on the argument that carbon caps will further raise costs for consumers and drive some business out of the country, further weakening the country's economy.
"When it comes to the issue of climate change ... it's pretty clear that if we don't work with other industrialized nations around the world, what's going to happen is that we're going to ship millions of American jobs overseas," House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said during an interview Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "We have to deal with this in a responsible way."
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13 Comments
Add CommentEnter Goebbels
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHyperbole, now THAT is helpful to all of us!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAbout as helpful as eco-fascists chasing chimeras and demanding that we pay their bills....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Enter Goebbels"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYour first comment is a Goodwin. Argumentation Fail.
Correction on Spelling. Goodwin is Godwin.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWow, Godwinned in the first comment! Nice!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"About as helpful as eco-fascists chasing chimeras and demanding that we pay their bills..."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA Tu quoque logical fallacy. You are now 2 for 2 on the irrational argument score board.
I think you meant to say "By writing that comment, you are exactly like Hitler" ;)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLOL
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf cap and trade is explained only about 31% are in favor of it, however; when the monitary increases are fully disclosed that number drops. Then when it is called what it is, a tax, then the people get more than unhappy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf we adoped this system there will be a lot of new faces in Wasinton.
Politicions, if you think they know what they are doing look at what they did with Goverment Sponserd Entities. They have no idea about taxing work out of the country.
If you think green jobs are real check out how well they worked out in Spain.Let's just say, lies and not a good out come.
opps, Washington- long day, and I spell like trash
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"f cap and trade is explained only about 31% are in favor of it, however; when the monitary increases are fully disclosed that number drops. Then when it is called what it is, a tax, then the people get more than unhappy."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHave you ever pondered what the cost of inaction will be? How happy will the people be with a degraded environment. Why do you assume that inaction has no cost attached to it?
Probably for the same reason Shoshin thinks trying to address the climate change is like, what is it, chasing chimeras? They're victims of the 'counterargument' group which is trying to make the case that global warming is either a myth or a part of the earth's natural cycle and has nothing to do with us.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUnfortunately, the uneducated involved public vastly outnumber those who understand that slander and mudslinging do NOT stand up in a logical debate.