Must-See Green TV

The National Press Club and the Society of Environmental Journalists will host an important presidential debate unlike any to have come so far in this protracted primary season.

The environmental policy advisers to the three major candidates – Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Republican John McCain – will debate, offering a "preview of what the future may hold for energy and environmental policy," as SEJ puts it.

"Political Climate: Environment, Energy & the 2008 Election" airs at 5 p.m. on CSPAN.

The candidates themselves will not attend, unfortunately. But despite that, high-level campaign aides will provide the most intense examination of the the candidates' environmental and energy policies aired on television to date. Most debates have avoided questions of global warming and energy policy, or given them relatively short shrift beside issues such as the War in Iraq, the economy and even the threat of nuclear terrorism or illegal immigration. No candidate has effectively drawn links between these disparate issues, despite that energy use affects not only the environment, but also the economy and national security.

The speakers will be:

• Jason Grumet, environmental advisor for Sen. Barack Obama, and the president and founder of the Bipartisan Policy Council in Washington, D.C.

• Todd Stern, advisor to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm Wilmer- Hale

• Jim Woolsey, former CIA Director and environmental advisor to Sen. John McCain, and an attorney with Goodwin Procter

The moderators will be:

• Margie Kriz, energy and environment reporter, National Journal

• Susan Feeney, senior editor, All Things Considered, National Public Radio

Sponsors of the event include BNA, Chemical & Engineering News, The Environmental Law Institute and National Geographic.

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