Green presidential picks - part I, Democrat

In a presidential election, we can put our environmental values into action on a large scale. When we vote for a candidate who supports renewable energy, conservation, and environmental protection, we're doing our part to help the planet.

For researching our choices, the major parties' conventions are a good place to start.

The Democrats just finished theirs in Denver this week. While I was watching on TV, I noticed that a lot of speakers mentioned clean-tech jobs and renewable energy projects. After the event was over, I went through the speech archives and counted up all the references to  terms like "clean energy," "renewable energy," "climate change," "global warming," "green-collar jobs," and "environment."

I found about 148 references to these green ideas. From Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's fiery call for a "new energy system that is clean, green, and American-made" to former Virginia Governor Mark Warner's assertion that "we'll be building 100 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrid vehicles right here, with American technology and with American workers," speakers emphasized the energy independence themes in the Democratic party platform.

Former President Bill Clinton even used climate change for a joke, when he said, "The campaign generated so much heat it increased global warming."

As one might expect, Nobel Prize winner and former Vice President Al Gore brought up environmental themes many times in his speech before presidential nominee Barack Obama took the stage. Gore proclaimed: "We already have everything we need to use the sun, the wind, geothermal power, conservation, and efficiency to solve the climate crisis -- everything, that is, except a president who inspires us to believe, 'Yes we can.'"

When Obama accepted the nomination, he explained the centerpiece of his energy plan: "I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy -- wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced."

Next week, the Republicans gather in the Twin Cities to explain their platform and introduce their presidential candidate, John McCain. He's positioned himself as a maverick, especially on energy issues. It remains to be seen how the candidate's stand meshes with the GOP's attitude.

I'll be watching the convention and do the same tally of the speeches after they're done. Watch next Friday for another post so you can compare the presidential nominees for yourself.