Peter Dykstra: Museum pieces
A young, environmentally minded Newt Gingrich. (Credit: West Georgia College)

Peter Dykstra: Museum pieces

Remembering the "Republican environmentalists" of days past

The popular young history professor cut a profile that spanned generations. Add a jaunty fedora and a sleeve or two of ink to the horn-rimmed glasses, wavy mane and boxcar-sized sideburns and he could well be a 2000's slacker instead of a 1970's tree hugger.


Newton Leroy Gingrich, Ph.D., taught the first environmental studies courses at his school. He advised the campus Sierra Club chapter and successfully raised hell against a proposed dam on the Flint River. And he aspired beyond the modest campus of West Georgia College.

By 1978, Gingrich was elected to Congress on his second try. Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in 1980 helped inspire the young Congressman's sharp turn away from green politics.

In 1995, he became Speaker of the House and shortly after, invented the modern government shutdown, and led a rightist rebellion that held green politics to be in extremelybad taste. Gingrich continued sporadic advocacy for unobjectionable causes, like saving Africa's gorillas. His Congressional career imploded after the failed bid to oust President Bill Clinton. In 2007, he appeared in an ad beside new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call for action on climate change. He later disowned the ad.

Newt Gingrich and his renunciation of environmental values is not a political exception. In the last 40 years, anti-environmental rhetoric and policies have swept the Republican Party:

In 1988, Presidential hopeful George H.W. Bush swept into office while pledging to be "the environmental president." Four short years later, he ridiculed Al Gore, running for VP on the rival ticket as "Ozone Man."

Mitt Romney enacted a forward-thinking Climate Action Plan while Massachusetts governor, then backed off prior to his 2012 Presidential run. Both Lindsey Graham and his Senate mentor, the late John McCain, also cooled on warming.

Even Sarah Palin -- Sarah Palin! -- recognized Alaska's unique vulnerabilities by convening a "Climate Change Sub-Cabinet" during her half-term as Governor. The Sub-Cabinet vanished like permafrost as Palin advanced to national fame in politics and reality TV.

The annual Congressional Scorecard published by the League of Conservation Voters provides a running performance record for key environment and energy legislation. In 1980, no Republican House members bottomed out with an LCV score of zero. For 2017, the latest available complete numbers, LCV awarded zeroes to more than two dozen Republican House members.

Republicans who stuck by their environmental guns were summarily disarmed. Though LCV gave him a lifetime score of only 26 percent, South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis talked a great climate game until losing a primary battle to prosecutor Trey Gowdy in 2010. Gowdy pulled a 3 percent lifetime LCV score, but is best known for enmeshing Hillary Clinton in years of Benghazi hearings.

"The most enduring heresy I committed was saying that climate change is real," Inglis told PBS FRONTLINE.

Sherwood Boehlert championed acid rain and fuel efficiency legislation for 12 terms from his Utica, NY-based Congressional seat, compiling a lifetime score of 78 percent from the League of Conservation Voters. Claudia Tenney was Utica's most recent rep, earning 6 percent from the LCV. She was unseated the 2018 Democratic wave.

Christie Whitman, the first EPA Administrator for George W. Bush, said she was routinely bigfooted by Vice President Dick Cheney on climate and environment issues. She quit after two years, accusing the Bush Administration of "flipping the bird" at the EPA.

Bird-flipping seems almost quaint. President Trump brings in an EPA regime overtly hostile to the Agency's founding purpose and mission.

An agency founded, by the way, by Republican Richard Nixon.

US Capitol dome touched by early morning sun with trees and a path in foreground.

Senate moves to gut clean energy tax credits as deal nears

The Senate was close to passing a sweeping GOP bill Tuesday morning that rolls back renewable energy tax credits, adds a new tax on wind and solar, and boosts fossil fuel development.

Amelia Davidson, Timothy Cama, Nico Portuondo, and Garrett Downs report forE&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
Man holding sign that says Not is not the time for business as usual; climate action now.

UN climate talks face growing backlash over corporate influence and stalled action

More than 200 civil society and Indigenous groups have issued a unified call for major reforms to the United Nations’ global climate negotiations, criticizing decades of slow progress and lack of accountability.

Ryan Krugman reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
An ocean wave up close with the tip of a mountain visible on one side of the frame.

Climate scientist warns Earth is approaching tipping points that could reshape the planet

Human-driven warming has pushed multiple Earth systems dangerously close to irreversible tipping points, but social and technological momentum could still steer the planet toward recovery.

Jonathan Watts reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
A large wildfire burning on the hills above a lake flanked by trees.

Extreme heat and wildfires surge across southern Europe as temperatures break records

A punishing heat wave swept across southern Europe this weekend, forcing evacuations in Greece and pushing several countries into emergency wildfire alerts as temperatures soared past 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Giada Zampano reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
Feet in sandals stand on stone pavers.

Hotter heat waves are sticking around as the planet keeps warming

A heat dome sent temperatures soaring across the Eastern U.S. last week, part of a growing trend driven by human-caused climate change that’s increasing the frequency and severity of extreme heat events.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

Keep reading...Show less
Flood waters rising next to house boats.

Rising seas may erase land, but not national identity, legal experts say

Nations facing submersion from rising seas could retain their legal status and maritime rights under international law, according to a new report from the United Nations’ International Law Commission.

Isabella Kaminski reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
Equipment pointing toward the sky to communicate with satellites.

Old satellites vital to hurricane tracking will soon stop transmitting data

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stopped receiving data from key weather satellites on June 30, limiting forecasters’ ability to detect dangerous hurricane intensification in real time.

Rebecca Dzombak reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.