Divided on environment

Of all the issues Debbie Cook and Dana Rohrabacher disagree on in their congressional campaigns, perhaps the most stark are their stances on the environment.

Democrat Cook, the mayor of Huntington Beach, has earned a reputation as an environmentalist while GOP incumbent Rep. Rohrabacher for years has ridiculed global-warming theories.

So it comes as little surprise that Cook recently received a second big environmental endorsement in her campaign.

The California League of Conservation Voters announced it is joining the Sierra Club in backing Cook in the election, citing the candidate’s fight to preserve the Bolsa Chica Wetlands and stop the Orange County Sanitation District from dumping partially treated sewage off the Huntington Beach coast.

“She has shown time and again her commitment to protecting our coastal resources,” said David Allgood, the conservation league’s Southern California director.

Cook and Rohrabacher differ substantially on some contentious environmental issues, including global climate change and offshore oil drilling. Rohrabacher does not believe changes in the climate are caused by humans, and he thinks efforts to curb temperature fluctuations are wrong-headed and counterproductive.

“It’s worse than a myth; it’s a hoax, and there are thousands of scientists that are stepping up and saying that,” Rohrabacher said of prevailing global-warming theories.

He believes climate trends are natural and not affected by human carbon emissions. Legislation seeking to curb such emissions and change the lifestyles of Americans will make travel more expensive and increase food prices, he said.

Cook, on the other hand, thinks the science behind global warming is solid, but says the notion is almost irrelevant.

According to Cook, whether or not you agree with scientific theories of carbon-caused global warming, America needs to try to wean itself off of heavy oil consumption. Oil is a resource that is eventually going to dry up, and it is shortsighted to base America’s future plans on the notion that more oil can always be drilled, Cook said.

For this reason, she does not think that we should drill for oil off the coast of California or in Alaska. Those resources are extremely limited and won’t really solve America’s energy problems, she said.

“It’s a thimbleful in your tank of gas. That’s all it is,” she said.

Rohrabacher has long been an advocate for more domestic drilling, including drilling off the shores of California. Increasing American oil production will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lower the cost of gas, he said. Drilling off Huntington Beach and other areas in his district has never been an environmental concern, according to Rohrabacher, it’s just about aesthetics.

“Rich people in their boats or in their coastal houses don’t want to see an oil rig in the distance, but I’m sorry — we need the oil,” he said.

Cook thinks the only way to address these energy demands effectively is to invest in alternative energy. Once the United States starts pumping domestic oil it will be too little too late, and won’t serve to lower prices at the pump or on peoples’ heating bills the way Rohrabacher says it will, Cook said.

“This winter we’re going to see incredible suffering from people who can’t afford to heat their homes,” Cook said.

She thinks it’s misleading to pretend as if oil drilled in America would go directly into the American economy. Really, it would go to the highest bidder worldwide, Cook said.

With usage in China and India on the rise and demand worldwide continuing to climb, the paucity of United States oil would hardly serve to lower prices significantly, she said.

IN THEIR WORDS

“Rich people ... in their coastal houses don’t want to see an oil rig in the distance, but I’m sorry — we need the oil.”

— Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

“It’s a thimbleful in your tank of gas. That’s all it is.”

Congressional candidate, talking about the resources of oil off the coast of California and in Alaska.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.