Bill McLaughlin was an environmental volunteer and advisor to Senator John McCain’s 2000 Election Campaign and has been a trustee of McCain's political action committee, Straight Talk America, ever since. He has been a delegate from Straight Talk America to the biennial environmental business conference, Globe, in Vancouver, British Columbia, since 2000. Globe, which stresses the importance of finding business solutions to environmental problems, attracts delegates from all over the world. As Bill says: “Obviously, there are a wide range of possible approaches to solving our problems beyond those being considered in any one country.”

 

Since 1992, the environmental issue that has most interested Bill is global warming, which he believes is the greatest threat to our way of life other than nuclear war and the poor education of young people.

Bill was a member of the United States Military Academy at West Point class of 1960, which ultimately led, as he says, to “a free trip to a certain Southeast Asian country.” He holds a degree in Physics from the University of California.

  His understanding of the potential of business helping with environmental problems comes from his experience of starting and leading an environmental remediation company, Toxco, Inc. Using patented processes that Bill invented, Toxco became the largest lithium recycler in the world. The company recycled so much lithium that it became the third largest supplier of lithium compounds in the United States. As Bill puts it: “We got paid for accepting the lithium wastes and were then paid for the reprocessed lithium compounds. Terrific scheme. Do well while doing good!”

Bill is active politically in California and has been a member of the San Bernardino County Republican Central Committee. Currently he is General Manager of Solid Team, a management company. His duties result in “excessive travel,” much of it to Ukraine. He has been known to call on his cell phone from Kiev to attend REP board conference meetings.

We asked Bill to tell us what he thinks about REP. He replied: “To me, REP is the organization that has the best chance of bringing a pro- environmental stance to Republican policies. We can do it by supporting Republicans who care about environmental issues, promoting an understanding of the importance of environmental issues, and advocating pro-environmental positions from a Republican point of view. At a time when our world is threatened by the effects of climate change, polluted air and water and habitat destruction, those of us who can help must help.”

Bill has been a REP member since 1999 and a director since 2002. He lives in Upland, California with his wife, Terry, and their sheepdog, Charlie.