Final Blog Entry

I’m back in Durham, exhausted and with a suitcase full of clothes that should be dry cleaned (Did the convention calculate THAT into its environmental footprint???).  Now that I have had a few days to reflect on my experiences and catch up on my sleep, I can now hopefully write a final cogent blog here. 

First, I want to thank everyone that contributed to help me get to Denver, it was an amazing honor to be there and I am extremely thankful for your help that made it all happen. 

Going into the convention I posed a few questions to be examined in this blog: (1) The 2008 Democratic Convention set out to be the greenest and most sustainable in recent history.  How successful were they in this endeavor?   With an estimated 50,000 guests in Denver for the convention (and more than 80,000 attendees on Thursday night), minimizing the environmental impact of the weeklong event presented huge challenges to the event organizers.  While there are many environmental impacts of the convention: water consumption, transportation, waste reduction, etc. I examined three sectors: transportation, waste reduction and food.  

So let’s take it by sector:  transportation/energy use: (1) energy/transportation:  the DNC promoted a contest to encourage delegates to buy carbon offsets of their carbon footprint caused by participation in the convention.  Thirty of the fifty states and territories had full delegate participation in the carbon-offset program.   Throughout the week, there was much shuttling back and forth between hotels, the Pepsi center, the convention center and various parties.  The light rail was used to some extent for this purpose, however, the reach of the light rail in Denver is limited.  As a result, delegates and guests rode buses, taxis, bicycles, and rickshaws to get about town.  Unfortunately, the city did not decide to run the light rail on an extended schedule, so many delegates (including myself) were stranded without mass transit at 3 or 4 in the morning. VIPs were shuttled around in VIP-marked hybrid SUVs, the buses largely ran on biodiesel fuel.  A bike system was set up so delegates could grab a bike and ride off to where they needed to go and leave it and pick up another bike next time they need a ride.   Overall, I would give the Convention a B+ on how they minimized their carbon footprint of transportation emissions.  Ideally there would have been full participation from all of the delegations along with a more comprehensive mass transit system.

(2) Waste reduction and diversion:  At the Pepsi Center there were numerous stations of waste diversion—bins for waste that would be sent to a landfill, to a compost pile, or to be recycled.  While these waste containers were clearly marked and many were staffed, many of the delegates either did not understand the system or did not take the time to separate out their trash.  This led to a mess in each of the designated bins.  At convention activities outside of the Pepsi Center (where the actual convention was held), generally, waste diversion systems were not in place.  These activities included roundtable discussions, parties, etc.  As a result I give the waste diversion/waste reduction program a C. Much more could have been done to encourage recycling and waste reduction at ALL of the convention-related events.  

(3) Local/organic food options: There was much hype about the food options at the convention and requirements on healthy choices including local and organic options.  Somehow, I missed this completely.  Each evening at the Pepsi Center, I confronted the option of eating either pizza, hot dogs, nachos—the typical ball game fare.  Where were the other options?  If there were locally grown, organic choices, I missed them completely.  Grade: F. 

Okay—now time for my second question----what environmental issues were discussed at the convention, who discussed them and what did they say? 

Tuesday night was the premiere night for discussion on energy and environmental policies.  On this night, Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana spoke fervently about an energy crisis and how “we face a great new challenge, a world energy crisis that threatens our economy, our security, our climate and our way of life. And until we address that energy crisis, our problems will only get worse.”  The Gov. Schweitzer went on to discuss the need for diversifying our energy sources to develop a “new energy system that is clean, green and American-made.”  He discussed drilling in Montana, along with the development of wind farms. 

Another speaker from Tuesday night, the Republican mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska, Jim Whitaker stated “America’s energy policy must be based on self reliance and the resources we have right here at home: from domestically produced natural gas, including liquefied natural gas from Alaska, to biomass, wind and solar—renewable, alternative energy sources, American energy sources.”  James Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy called for increased energy efficiency, while Nancy Floyd, head of Nth power, a clean energy venture capital firm, underscored the need for innovative technologies.  

The theme of restructuring our energy system ran through many of the speeches on Tuesday night and throughout the convention.  These discussions were framed in three ways: (1) energy independence; (2) environmental protection; and (3) climate change reduction.  I really think that (1) the amount of time spent on energy and environmental issues; and (2) the content of these speeches present a turning point in the U.S. on energy policy.  I hope that these speeches delivered by a diverse range of folks on energy issues at the convention made it to television audiences across the nation.       

To wrap up, my experience at the Democratic National Convention was extremely positive.  I recognize that the role of conventions in the political process has morphed from a process in which delegates play an active role in deciding our future presidential nominee into a weeklong series of speeches and discussions (“infomercial”?) about the parties’ visions for our country.   That being said, I strongly encourage all of you at Nicholas School and beyond, Republican or Democrat, to actively participate in the political process.  I didn’t think it was possible for an average citizen like me to be a part of the convention, but I tried, and I did it.  I strongly believe that it is only through active citizen participation in our political processes that we can call our government our own.