do any candidates really care about the environment?

Boy, was last night's debate a dud. (Though, I was glad that Obama mentioned McCain's incredibly callous and disrespectful "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran" song.)

The "debate" just sounded to me like the same old things repeated over and over again, pat answers, rehearsed attacks--and McCain's attempt at a kinder, gentler tone of voice was just spooky. Actually I probably would have just turned off the radio if I hadn't been having such a good time live-blogging over at The Wrecking Ball Reports.

At any rate, I always find myself disappointed when candidates don't talk about environmental issues. I know that the economy is on everyone's mind and people love to hear about taxes. But for me--particularly since I'm a mom--issues like climate change, energy and the environment are super, super important.

So, I was really psyched this morning when I received an email from someone involved with the CandidAnswers2008 website. Here's an excerpt of the note, which explains what the site is and how it works:

Our site is interactive, in the sense that if a candidate has not responded to the survey, visitors can send the five-question survey to the congressional candidate of their choosing, and then, if all goes well, the candidate will answer their request and give them the information they want to make a confident choice in the election. Once a candidate responds their answer is posted on the site to serve as a voter guide so that other people can compare their candidates' positions side-by-side. Tons of people have already logged on to the site and sent their candidates requests for straight-forward answers. As a result of their efforts, more than one-hundred candidates have already responded! As both a citizen initiated survey and a voter guide, CandidAnswers depends on participation by both users and candidates for its success.

I'm guessing that presidential candidates will never have serious and straight-forward discussions about the environment--until there are some real emergencies.

But if the public can encourage that dialogue among local and state candidates, there could be some hope for the future. Particularly in New Mexico, there are candidates running for office who seem to really care about environmental issues. Let's support them, yes, but also remind them to stay true to their ideals even while in office--and also encourage them to do even more to protect the environment. (Hint, hint: off-shore drilling isn't a good idea and neither is nuclear energy--especially since NM will get stuck with the waste no one else wants.)

But for now, check out CandidAnswers2008 and start asking questions.