Pols scramble to show green side

by Whitney Blair Wyckoff

Members of Congress are showing their colors today. And, in honor of Earth Day, the color is green.

In a release, Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel highlighted a part of a bill that he co-authored which would help prevent nonnative species from entering the Great Lakes from ships.

"As a father and a member of Congress, preserving our environment for generations to come is one of my top priorities," he said.

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Penn.) said that he would continue to promote research into alternative fuels, and emphasized the importance of a "sensible American energy strategy based on conservation and research into renewable and alternative forms of energy."

"Replacing carbon-emitting processes with clean, alternative and renewable fuels as the primary source of energy in America is critical to achieving environmental, energy and national security objectives," Dent said in a release.

As politicians fell all over each other to showcase their environmental credentials, Senate Democrats held a press conference in the Capitol to discuss some of their green initiatives in the works - as well as bash the current administration on its environmental record.

"We Democrats are doing everything we can to ensure that the United States is a leader in environmental protection," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in front of a group that included Environmental committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.).

The Democrats said that focusing on the environment would improve the economy because it would create jobs, and they called on the President and their Republicans counterparts to "invest in our planet."

The presidential hopefuls were not to be outdone. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) used Earth Day to support his outside-the-Beltway image.

"Our leaders in Washington have to put what's right for our planet ahead of what's good for their friends in the energy industry," Obama said in a statement. "Executives in the energy industry have to understand that there's nothing inconsistent about acting in a way that's both responsible and profitable."

And Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) promised to put a halt to "the Bush Administration's assault on environmental protections and standards."

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who according to the League of Conservation Voters missed every key environmental vote last year, also weighed in.

"We must have the courage to realistically confront the specter of climate change," he said in a statement. "This is one of the greatest challenges confronting the next President." McCain added that he hopes to reduce greenhouse gas emission to "sustainable levels."