John Edwards announces plans to make campaign "carbon neutral"

StarNewsOnline.com ^ | 3/13/07 | MIKE BAKER

[LdSentinal]

GREENSBORO, N.C. | Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Tuesday his campaign would seek to eliminate its contribution to global warming by becoming "carbon neutral."

Speaking to a crowd of college students at Bennett College, the former North Carolina senator urged all Americans to help reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

"It's time for the president of the United States to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war," Edwards said. "This is an emergency. This requires action now."

Edwards said his campaign will consult with experts to calculate its total carbon emissions - covering everything from his campaign travel to the energy used at his headquarters office in Chapel Hill.

Along with taking a series of steps to improve its energy efficiency, the campaign will buy carbon offsets, or credits sold by those who have reduced their emissions of carbon dioxide.

He declined to give an estimate of how much the offsets might cost, other than to say it would be "expensive."

"I didn't say it was easy," Edwards told reporters after speaking at Bennett. "I said it was important."

Edwards isn't the first candidate to adopt such a policy. Before dropping out of the race, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said his campaign would offset its carbon dioxide production by paying a Vermont company that invests in renewable fuels such as wind power. Edwards plans to work with the same company.

[TommyDale]

Edwards reminds me of John Anderson in 1980. He tries to be everything to everybody, with no direction. Total, 100% panderer. Instead of going where the votes are, he would wade into a cess pool to point out the pollution.

[digger48]

What's he gonna do? recycle his tampons?

[cardinal4]

You gotta be kiding me..

[Farmer Dean]

Edwards is a child trapped in a man's body.

[clintonh8r]

Let's show some resppect. After all, he could be the first woman president....

[NotchJohnson]

So he would just buy carbon (pollution) credits? This cat owns about 150,000 sq. ft in living space for petes sake.

[digger48]

Will he start by replanting 30 acres of trees?

[pbear8]

If he stopped running his campaign would be carbon free.

[Redbob]

Might be a good time to find out if he's even a carbon-based life form...

[Keith in Iowa]

Buying carbon offsets from Al Gore? :)

[Fixit]

I guess he'll have to cancel his scheduled campaign steamship tour up the Mississippi.

[clintonh8r]

a man's body.

Are you sure?

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

I'm going out tomorrow and buy one of those toy windmills to put on my front lawn, with a sign that says "Carbon Neutral Zone". That will give me many guilt free nights of sleep.

[Fierce Allegiance]

I'm selling carbon credits.They are junk, though, just like the whole carbon credit idea. But what the hell, I want to make money. This is my pet rock!

[Burkean]

Where do I sign up to get paid by rich liberals for my low energy consumption? I purposely bought a Scion xB instead of a Honda Element because I wanted to save on gas. Thanks to the thriftiness taught to me by my depression era farmer grandparents I save and reuse everything I can. Shouldn't I be getting a paycheck from Edwards or Gore?

[NonValueAdded]

This is a parody, right?

[NotchJohnson]

So can /i set up shop and have people pay me for my carbon credits? Have yet to see this in entrprenuer magazine.

[HitmanLV]

I hear it will 'content neutral,' too. :-)

[cardinal4]

Shouldn't I be getting a paycheck from Edwards or Gore?

Depends, do you have any Bush stickers on the new vehicle?

[JennysCool]

As this article indicates, his campaign's already "brain-neutral."

[Cicero]

I'll bet Edwards could fit many thousands of these lawn ornaments on that lawn of his, wire them up, and run the lights in one two bathrooms off of them.

[Kimmers]

Hmmmmm, when I think carbon neutral, I think John Edwards.

[Aikonaa]

In other words, Edwards is not really willing to sacrifice anything as far as his own lifestyle goes. There carbon credits are most likely chump change for multi-millionaire.

[msnimje]

Indeed.

[Burkean]

I knew there had to be a catch. Maybe if I put a "Run Hillary Run" sticker on my front bumper I can get on the payola.

I wonder now that Cindy Sheehan has been tossed away like last week's garbage if she can make a living by selling carbon offsets and promising to stay at home and not embarrass the Democrats anymore?

[Burkean]

I wonder if this will give rise to an "I'm carpooling for Edwards" movement--people who share rides to work in order to support his east coast west coast jet hopping?

[HIDEK6]

This guy is totally vacuous.

[doc1019]

Looked up looser in my dictionary and John Ewards came up..

[Rb ver. 2.0]

What a friggin jackass.

[isthisnickcool]

What a faggy idea. This carbon credit crap.

I hope Thompson runs. At least I can imagine him grabbing someone by the throat. What is it with all these wimps running for president?

[pissant]

He can buy credits from ALgore and feel so good and refreshed, like he does with his morning douche.

[A message]

"I didn't say it was easy," Edwards told reporters after speaking at Bennett.

Yea, Johnny writing that carbon offset check I'm sure will really put you out and save the world. Bwahahahahahahahaha. I'm so unimpressed.

Liberals are so gullible.

[Thrownatbirth]

Edward's carbon neutral campaign means the infirmed, the illegal and the insane have to get themselves to the polls in the greenest way possible.

[Dutch Boy]

Just wait for the North Koreans to product counterfit carbon credits. (sarcasm)

[metmom]

Does that start with his compound house?

[ItsForTheChildren]

John Edwards announces plans to make campaign "carbon neutral"

Not surprising. His campaign is already idea neutral.

[tflabo]

This phoney former greedy lawyer is so full of "carbonization" who is he to lecture us with some PC rant concerning carbon. All that Breack shampoo suds cant be good for the enviroment either. What a clown.

[6SJ7]

Speaking to a crowd of college students at Bennett College, the former North Carolina senator urged all Americans to help reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

If someone had told me 30 years ago that the big topic of the early 21st century would be reducing carbon-dioxide, as in breathing, I would have said that person was daft.

[Moonman62]

The building on the left must represent one America and the building on the right must represent the other America.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Set fire to his 20,000 sq. foot palatial estate and reduce it to charcoal. That's carbon neutral.

[Repub4bush]

Speaking to a crowd of college students at Bennett College

I wonder why he chose a small private female AA school instead of UNCG or A&T STate? (All in Greensboro)

"Bennett Belles" as we used to say!

[Moonman62]

Edwards said his campaign will consult with experts to calculate its total carbon emissions - covering everything from his campaign travel to the energy used at his headquarters office in Chapel Hill.

That's nice, but how is he going to offset his hairspray emissions?

[beethovenfan]

Just stop exhaling, John.

[Rhetorical pi2]

'Doin' my part: We cooked out tonight, great evening and all that, but I have set up a "Carbon Restricted Allowance Preserve" (C.R.A.P.).

We shared our grill with a neighbor, and everything was cooked medium rare - just to reduce carbon. As an offset, I bought $3.00 from my C.R.A.P. account so as to make our cookout "carbon neutral".

I replenishedour C.R.A.P. account by setting out an Azalea bush, and watering the Tulips that have started to bloom. Now, the way I figure it, I left no "carbon footprint" (Using Algore's formula)...and I even put the empty beer bottles in the trash. (Beer is CARBONATED y'know.) Hey, you gotta work the system. I'm working on selling Papa Johns Pizza some carbon reserves for about $12.00 - which means we about break even on a large pepperoni delivered. (But of course I tip the delivery person, so it's not a flawless system. I think I'm gonna enjoy this "global warming". :o)

[digger48]

The building on the left must represent one America and the building on the right must represent the other America.

I'm just guessin' those are Hair Salons built into that long stroll between the 2 Americas

[DeFault User]

I wonder if he owns stock in...?

[musicman]

I'd even be willing to trade my very valuable Barry Bonds rookie card for a substantial ammount of some of these carbon credit thingees:

[Malesherbes]

I'll buy your carbon credits just as soon as my Nigerian banker delivers on his promises.

[Calvin Locke]

That...is...pathetic.

On so many levels.

Even for a Dim.

A trial lawyer Dim, no less.