The proverbial fat lady hasn't even started her warm-up scales, much less begun to sing her aria, so it's far too soon to call winners and losers of this fall's elections. In spite of polls indicating that across the country voters are ready to send the Republican-dominated Congress packing, and that the race for Michigan governor is a dead heat, smart money says it's way too soon to call the winners.

Whatever happens in November, MEC members and supporters will be listening for signals that candidates-especially those vying for governor-consider the environment a priority issue. We will be looking for candidates who recognize the real threats and opportunities associated with the biggest environmental issue of all, global warming. Apparently, this is not a narrowly held viewpoint.

National pollster John Zogby says candidates would do well to tap into voters' rising concerns about the impacts of global warming. Zogby told power brokers gathered at the Greater Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce Mackinac Policy Conference last month, he thinks "the ace in the hole the Democrats have and they must use, is global warming." And if it's a good leg-up for aspiring Democrats, it couldn't hurt Republicans either.

According to Zogby, there is a national consensus, with 70% of the voters expressing real concern about global warming. He points out that this issue cuts across class and geography, with Fortune 500 CEOs, NASCAR fans, veterans and people who tilt conservative on gender and social issues deeply concerned about the quality of their air and the quality of life in general.

Broad public concern for a major environmental issue is great news for those of us who've long hungered for elected leaders with strong environmental ethics. After years of suffering through candidates from both parties who vied to appear the most fiscally conservative, toughest on crime or narrowly focused on the economy, it's great to hear a pollster admonish candidates not to ignore the biggest issue of all-global warming. And Zogby's advice should be true in spades when voters across the country see Al Gore's newly-released movie, An Inconvenient Truth.

MEC is precluded by its nonprofit tax status from expressing a preference for specific candidates. However, we are well within our legal boundaries to demand that every candidate address the issues to which we are devoting so much hard work and personal resources. Candidates who expect our support as individuals-who ask that we work for them, give them money and cast our votes for them in November-need to know that we want them to give our issues plenty of airtime.

The endless battle over who can create more jobs is important. But most of us are sophisticated enough to know that whoever is elected governor will be able to exercise a much bigger impact on Michigan's environment than on Michigan's economy. The electorate is also sophisticated enough to understand that Michigan's economy is inseparably linked to its natural resources-from the abundant fresh water necessary for manufacturing to the unspoiled forests that bring in tourists and contribute to workers' quality of life.

This election cycle, perhaps more so than in many years, candidates who ignore issues related to clean air and water do so at their own peril.