"We need Sue Minter as our standard-bearer," said Aaron Mair, president of the Sierra Club.
Mair spoke on the steps of the Vermont Statehouse alongside Bill McKibben, the environmental activist, journalist and founder of grassroots conservation group 350.org. The Sierra Club also announced support for many current and prospective state lawmakers, several of whom attended. The Sierra Club, founded in 1892, has pushed for major environmental legislation including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act.
Speakers assailed Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Scott for past statements on climate change and for connections with leading GOP fundraisers the Koch brothers. There are a couple degrees of separation between Scott and the billionaire Republican donors, but Koch money — about $600,000 of it — has flowed through the Republican Governor's Association to support Scott's bid for the governor's seat.
Scott has also changed his position on climate change. Earlier this year, he said in an online forum that climate change is "a combination of man-made contributions as well as a natural phenomenon."
