Green Corps organizer Melisa Stodieck pushed presidential candidates to sign clean energy pledges in Iowa and South Carolina.

When Environment America wanted to get the presidential candidates on record about their plans for meeting America’s future energy needs they called Green Corps.

With the price of oil soaring and signs of global warming becoming even clearer, the time is now to make sure that the leadership of our country is ready and willing to put us on a path toward a New Energy Future. We must meet all new energy needs with conservation, efficiency, and clean, homegrown renewable sources of power.

Already states, cities, and even some businesses are taking steps in this direction. California has positioned itself to become the world’s third largest market for solar power; 25 states have enacted renewable energy standards; 12 states are requiring cleaner cars on the road; and Congress has taken steps to require that all cars get at least 35 miles per gallon of gasoline.

Green Corps organizers are working with Environment America to capitalize on this window of opportunity during the 2008 presidential election to ensure a clean energy president is elected. Working in the early caucus and primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina organizers are increasing visibility on this issue, educating candidates about the issue, getting candidate stances on the record, and building an infrastructure of activists and coalition partners that will help ensure the next administration does its part to create the new energy future the environment demands.

So far, Green Corps organizers have engaged all of the presidential candidates via grassroots phonebanking, emailing, and bird-dogging. As a result of these efforts, five presidential candidates have signed the pledge to meet all future energy needs with clean renewable energy: Clinton, Edwards, Kucinich, Obama and Richardson.