Yesterday, I blogged about the presidential candidates’ responses to rising gas prices, focusing on how they reveal views of prosperity and the role of community. There was another interesting development in this debate yesterday, which A Siegel described on his blog.  He writes that many environmentalists have until recently viewed Clinton and Obama as having comparable qualifications on environmental issues, imperfect, but a big improvement over the Bush administration and John McCain.  Because of this view, Siegel writes:

[M]any of us were ’sitting on the sidelines’ when it came to the Presidential campaign.

Well, this has changed.

The precipitating event: Hillary Clinton’s determined foray into the Energy Dumb ranks with her vociferous and highly counter-productive calls for a gas tax moratorium.

As he goes on to explain, Friends of the Earth (FoE) Action announced this weekend that Clinton’s reaction to rising gas prices has prompted it to endorse Barack Obama.  The organization had previously supported John Edwards before he suspended his campaign.  From Friends of the Earth Action’s statement:

“We endorse Senator Obama because we believe he is the best candidate for the environment,” said Friends of the Earth Action President Brent Blackwelder. “The ‘gas tax holiday’ debate is a defining moment in the presidential race. The two other candidates responded with sham solutions that won’t ease pain at the pump, but Senator Obama refused to play that typical Washington game. Instead, Obama called for real solutions that would make transportation more affordable and curb global warming. He showed the courage and candor we expect from a president.”

For an organization such as FoE Action, the policy differences among the candidates are not the only deciding factor.  Barack Obama didn’t simply have his campaign put out a low-profile statement disagreeing with proposals to suspend the gas tax.  Instead, he used the occasion as an opportunity to inform citizens about changes that they would need to make in Washington in order to bring about a transition to a more environmentally sound economy.  This act of engaging the public and encouraging people to recognize the need to pursue significant changes when other candidates were offering quick fixes no doubt made a difference to Friends of the Earth Action.

It is likely that we as entrepreneurs who seek to strengthen the environment and community through our work can find lessons in this as we compete against larger, more established businesses that promise easy solutions.  We have already seen plenty of greenwashing by major corporations as well as similar deceptions about labor and other practices, and are sure to see much more in the future.  We will need to find ways to challenge the easy answers that too many corporations peddle.  As we do so, we can build stronger bonds of trust with our communities through the reliable information and empowerment that we offer.

Evan

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