The first national green group to make an endorsement in the 2016 election just threw its weight behind Bernie Sanders.
Announced Saturday afternoon in New Hampshire, the endorsement from Friends of the Earth Action arrives amid rising frustration from the environmental Left over Hillary Clinton's refusal to take a stand on the Keystone XL pipeline and a host of other hot-button issues such as drilling in icy Arctic waters.
"We're seeing a lot of speeches from candidates, but Bernie has an incredibly strong track record and there's a lot of credibility there. He's also willing to say 'no' where some other candidates aren't," Erich Pica, the president of Friends of the Earth Action, said in an interview.
Many environmentalists fear that Clinton's cozy relationship with Wall Street and silence on some environmental issues may be a sign that she won't go far enough at a time when aggressive action is needed to stem the tide of global warming. And they see Sanders as a more-steadfast environmental champion.
Unlike Clinton, Sanders is on record saying that he supports a carbon tax, opposes Arctic offshore drilling, has voiced support for a ban on fracking in Vermont, supports the divestment movement, and opposes Keystone XL.