GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) said yesterday that Republicans “have to do a lot more than they are doing today on the environment.” During a visit to Seattle, he decried the $5 billion maintenance shortfall for national parks and challenged GOP congressional leaders to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which uses federal oil and gas revenue to preserve land. He sharply criticized federal subsidies for oil, gas, ethanol, and sugar. “I hope it’s possible for a conservative president to be an environmentalist,” McCain said. Meanwhile, liberal actor Warren Beatty, who is being coy about whether he will jump into the presidential circus, criticized the low fees paid by mining and logging companies for operating on public land and lamented environmental problems facing the developing world during a speech in Los Angeles Wednesday night.
