Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley have promised environmental activists they would not take campaign contributions from fossil fuel interests — ironically, the candidates never promised to stop campaign travel in fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
O’Malley and Sanders signed a pledge proposed by The Nation magazine for presidential candidates to “neither solicit nor accept campaign contributions from any oil, gas, or coal company.” So far, O’Malley and Sanders are the only presidential candidates to sign the pledge — Hillary Clinton has yet to answer The Nation’s call to reject oil money.
But while Sanders and O’Malley have promised to reject funding from coal, oil and gas companies, they haven’t sworn off using their products. Both candidates have traveled hundreds, if not thousands, of miles campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. It’s unlikely they are walking or traveling by wind or solar-powered cars, buses and planes.
Looking through Sanders press releases, the Vermont senator in the first few days of July alone traveled from Madison, Wis., to Iowa to Portland, Maine — about 1,700 miles of traveling by car between all three areas. Also, traveling from Iowa to Portland is about a four and a half hour flight. This doesn’t even include Sanders’ traveling to Washington, D.C. — he is a senator after all.
For starters, Sanders traveling from Creston, Iowa to Portland, Maine alone is about 1,400 miles by car or bus — using about 42 gallons of gasoline (assuming a relatively fuel-efficient car), which would emit 825 pounds of carbon dioxide. If Sanders flew, he would emit about 617 pounds of CO2. Sanders is certain to rack up thousands of more miles as the presidential campaign drags on.
The same goes for the former Maryland governor, who is traveling between Iowa and New Hampshire in his bid to secure the Democratic nomination. On June 28, O’Malley’s campaign tweeted out a picture of him driving in a car to a campaign event in Sioux City, Iowa — it doesn’t look like he’s driving a Tesla!
Before that, O’Malley spoke at a Truman National Security Project event in Washington, D.C. — a long way from Sioux City. And just a few days before speaking in D.C., O’Malley spoke at a U.S. Conference of Mayors summit in San Francisco, Calif. How do you think he got from San Francisco to D.C.? He definitely didn’t cover that distance in a few days by walking.
Neither the Sanders nor O’Malley campaigns responded to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment on if the candidates will also opt not to use fossil fuel products.
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