Reichert seeks evidence on climate change, but backs reducing emissions

Rep. Dave Reichert stunned a group of environmentalists this summer when, while seeking the Sierra Club's endorsement, he said he was not convinced that human activity caused global warming.

Not surprisingly, the group offered its seal of approval to Reichert's Democratic challenger Darcy Burner, who says global warming is undeniably connected to burning fossil fuels.


	Reichert

Kathleen Ridihalgh of the Sierra Club said the decision was largely based on concerns about the Republican Reichert's understanding and commitment to help solve global warming. "As we saw, he doesn't even believe it exists, so we don't have much faith that he can help solve the problem facing us today," she said.

But as with other Reichert stands -- such as opposing a renewed ban on assault weapons during his 2004 campaign while he was still King County sheriff -- Reichert seems to be walking the line between alienating voters in his moderate 8th Congressional District and placating his more conservative right-wing base.

Reichert's says he needs more evidence before he can conclude that auto emissions and other greenhouse gases are causing global climate change.

Even President Bush, a former oilman, has acknowledged that fossil fuel emissions are heating up the planet.

Despite Reichert's reluctance to go along with Bush or accept a recent report from a panel of 11 of the nation's top climate scientists, including seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, one of whom is a Nobel Prize winner, centrist Republicans are still on his side.

This week Republicans for Environmental Protection, an organization dedicated to helping GOP candidates who support conservation and environmental protection, endorsed Reichert.

"Our mission is to restore the conservation tradition that the Republican Party stood for more forcefully years ago," said Jim DiPeso, the group's policy director. "Conservation is conservative. There's no reason for the issues of land protection and clean water and clean air protection to be put into a partisan box."

Because of her party affiliation Burner was not in the running for the group's endorsement, but DiPeso said the decision to back Reichert was not automatic.

"We only endorse Republicans, but we don't endorse all Republicans," DiPeso said. "We only endorse in cases where the candidate meets the standards that we think Republican candidates ought to meet on conservation and environmental issues."

The group is endorsing more than a dozen Congressional races this year.

It did not endorse President Bush in 2004.

DiPeso said the group endorsed Reichert despite his statements about global warming.

"We view the human role in global warming as real," DiPeso said. "We are convinced that enough research has been conducted and the information that scientists are continuing to compile really shows that there is a human fingerprint on some of the changes we're seeing in climate patterns around the world."

DiPeso said the group accepted Reichert's explanation that he is a methodical investigator who doesn't jump to conclusions.

Nonetheless, "We would be happy to sit down with him and try to answer any remaining questions that he has."

Burner's campaign spokeswoman said Reichert's views show he is out of touch with his district.

Reichert believes that global warming is simply a natural fluctuation in the Earth's temperature, similar to others that have occurred many times throughout history, said his spokeswoman Kimberly Cadena.

DiPeso says Reichert may change his view.

"I'm confident that he is going to get there, he's just going to do it his way," he said. "It's an educational process."

Though Reichert is unconvinced that humans are to blame, his policy decisions are based on the idea that reducing auto emissions and other greenhouse gases could help, Cadena said.

"Everybody thinks reducing green house gases is a good idea, she said.

That's why the Republican group backs Reichert.

"You need to take his record in context," DiPeso said. "It is a very large issue, obviously, you need to look at his overall record and how he feels about public lands conservation. His view are evolving on fuel efficiency."

DiPeso said it's vital to the political process to support mainstream Republicans.

"If we don't have moderates and centrists in Congress, we're going to see more and more polarization either on the extreme left or on the extreme right and that's just a recipe for political vapor lock."

P-I reporter Chris McGann can be reached at 360-943-3990 or chrismcgann@seattlepi.com.

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