Found this today and thought I'd add it to this thread. I'd never heard the Sierra Club's description of Kerry before:
"Convening an environmental conference in Washington, DC, dictated the presence of a nationally recognized eco-activist. Senator John Kerry (D-MA), identified by the Sierra Club as the Senate’s strongest environmental advocate, was an obvious choice. He has consistently recognized that a healthy environment is fundamental to our nation’s quality of life and economic security. While applauding the visionary pioneers in the audience, he labeled the current U.S. Senate as “nearly dysfunctional” for its inability to move the nation forward in solving our environmental problems such as oil dependence, down-stream pollution, air quality, waste and global warming. Politics, he said, should be the “art of the possible,” rather than constantly trying to fix the things we’ve done wrong in the past.
A true tax cut, one that would ultimately save the country billions of dollars and rejuvenate our economy, would put policies in place that don’t require us to repair decades of damage, but would offer America different choices. Kerry suggested two fundamental changes: government’s methods of addressing these choices and the way in which citizens approach government. It is the job of leaders, he said, to provide the marketplace incentives that will transition the country to energy sources that are clean, abundant and reliable—things such as subsidies, tax credits, partnerships with industry and joint ventures with universities—that will move us rapidly toward true national security.
Citizens, Kerry reminded the audience, have created a “felt need” in the past on issues such as civil rights, voting rights, the clean air and clean water acts and the formation of the EPA, and can do so again by becoming vested in holding politicians accountable. One hundred million dollars or more is spent in Washington each month by special interest lobbyists to influence government decisions, but it is the citizens who must re-engage and reclaim our own democracy by making cleaner air, better fuel economy and other environmental concerns a voting issue. Reconnecting to the possibilities, to dare and reach, be tough and courageous, thoughtful and compassionate is the responsibility of voters and politicians alike. This, said Kerry, will enable us to avoid becoming the first generation in history to leave the country in worse shape than we found it."
http://www.greenatworkmag.com/magazine/articles/ed7_recap.html