Excerpts of remarks by leading newsmakers
Carter Roberts, president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund (left) and Stephanie Meeks, acting president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy.
Sam Kittner/World Wildlife Fund and Mark Godfrey/The Nature Conservancy
On the implications of the UN sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report issued Saturday:
(Meeks) "What we all heard in the ... report is that the time frame [for action] has just shrunk substantially and I think that is an important message for Capitol Hill as well as for all of us."
On whether there is a mandate in the 2008 presidential campaign for action on global warming:
(Roberts) "It would be great if a mandate emerged from this election, but we haven't seen it be one of the top three issues for the candidates, possibly with the exception of [John] McCain."
On the carrot-versus-stick approach in leading environmental change:
(Roberts) "It is irresponsible to paint a picture of the problem without having a strong picture of the solution.... There are signs for hope in the world when you see what different countries are doing to respond to the problem.
(Meeks) "Carter and I both represent organizations [that] have as one of their core attributes hope about the future.... But at the same time, I think a little doom-and-gloom despair is called for ... and a few nightmares would probably be good for us as Americans because we have been living in La-La Land about this."
On the relationship between action on global warming by the US and other nations:
(Meeks) "Without our leadership it is going to be harder to get China and India there."