Environmental Advocates See Impact From Clean Energy Issues On Election
By Kim Glovas
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Health, environment and their impact in the general election were the topic during a discussion at a Clean Air Forum.
The event included environmental and business leaders who discussed climate change, how the environment affected certain outcomes in the election and more.
Lisa Widawksky Hallowell is an attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project, a non-profit group which advocates for enforcement of environmental laws. She was one of the panelists who talked about how these issues affected who won and who didn't in the general election.
"There were a lot of environmental candidates who discussed climate change who were voted in. A lot of folks who denied climate change or have not otherwise made environmental issues a priority were not successful in this election."
Hallowell says it may not have been a mandate but it did make a difference. Other panelists said the election outcome showed voters want renewable energy and green jobs to keep the air clean and the ocean levels low.
Jay Carlis is vice president of Community Energy, a leading wind energy company in Pennsylvania. He says extension of the wind energy tax credit is important for our future, and nonpartisan.
"There seems to be a lot of support for the extension of the Production Tax Credit. Wind energy is bipartisan. When you look at the amount of wind energy in the United States, actually 82 percent of the wind energy facilities in the United States are in Republican congressional districts."
He says wind energy brings economic benefits in green jobs. Carlis says demand is growing from consumers and businesses for more sources of renewable energy.
