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Reporters Continue to Recognize the Importance of Global Warming

-- Mike -- 02/23/2007

John McCain's recent appearance with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger highlighting California's efforts to curb greenhouse gases certainly is a worthwhile news story, but the lead paragraph to Newsweek's article on it is worth noting not so much for what the reporter writes about McCain, but for what she writes about the issue of global warming (emphasis added):

Sen. John McCain got a little lost in the shuffle Wednesday. His appearance in California with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was all but eclipsed by the hissing match between Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. True, the reason for McCain's appearance-to call for a nationwide low-carbon fuel standard, similar to the one Schwarzenegger imposed in California earlier this year-isn't quite as sexy as a fight over the affections of Hollywood mogul and Democratic moneyman David Geffen, or McCain's own spat with Vice President Cheney. But the few dozen reporters willing to don ridiculous-looking neon orange safety smocks to join McCain and Schwarzenegger at a loading dock at the Port of Long Beach were on to a story far more significant to the 2008 presidential campaign-and beyond. How will the United States adapt its energy policies to cope with the potentially catastrophic economic consequences of climate change? "No matter who runs for president," said McCain, who has yet to officially announce his candidacy, "this will be a very, very big issue."