The statement is also Mrs. Clinton’s strongest position so far on an issue that some environmentalists consider critical in determining a presidential candidate’s commitment to addressing climate change. “Given what we know, it’s not worth the risk of drilling”, Clinton said in a post on Twitter. What happens in the Arctic matters to us all.
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As much as the groups praise Obama for his overall body of work – from stricter fuel-efficiency standards to regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants – they consider the approval of exploratory drilling in the Arctic a stain on his environmental legacy.
Clinton maintains her edge against potential Republican opponents, however, despite a “growing perception that by using a personal email account and server while serving as secretary of state she did something wrong”, it said.
However, as the AP, Discovery News, and other media outlets pointed out, environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club oppose the awarding of the permits and the drilling as a whole, claiming that the industrial activity will harm native creatures such as polar bears, walrus, and whales that are already being threatened due to rising temperatures and sea ice loss.
She is facing an unexpectedly robust challenge from liberal Senator Bernie Sanders, an avid environmental defender who in May wrote Obama urging against approval of Arctic drilling.
“Being more-anti energy than Obama is extreme”, Bush tweeted to Clinton.
Clinton has said she won’t take a stance on whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada into the U.S., unless the decision is still pending if and when she’s elected.
Clinton previously has said she will “refrain from commenting” on Keystone because of her role in getting the review process started as secretary of state. But Keystone supporters and opponents alike have questioned her refusal to say what she believes about an issue important to voters.
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“I am getting impatient, because I feel that at some point a decision needs to be made”, Clinton said.
