A majority of members of the U.S. Congress voted more often over the past two years to weaken environmental laws than to strengthen them, according to the League of Conservation Voters. This week the group released its 30th annual scorecard rating senators and representatives according to their votes on key environmental issues. Republicans in the Senate earned an average LCV score of just 12 percent, and Republicans in the House averaged 17 percent, while Senate Democrats averaged 79 percent and House Democrats averaged 77 percent. In addition to releasing their scorecard, LCV staffers are hard at work this week campaigning for congressional candidates with strong green credentials and against a “Dirty Dozen” candidates with particularly poor environmental records, among them Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), Rep. Steve Kuykendall (R-Calif.), and former Virginia Gov. George Allen (R), who is running for Senate. LCV President Deb Callahan tells all in diary entries for Grist this week.
