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Warming Moves the People
-- Adam -- 02/01/2007
The present and growing problem of climate refugees was addressed in an article from AFP News this morning. Among the causes, desertification and shrinking water sources have made huge areas unsuitable for habitation, in Africa and Asia in particular. With global warming continuing to shift weather patterns, an even more massive human crisis is looming if some measures are not taken to abate more dramatic temperature increases in the near future. The story notes, "A Red Cross and Red Crescent study in 2000 said 25 million people had left their homes because of environmental stress, roughly as many as the refugees from armed conflict." It also says that these numbers may soar to 200 million people by the end of the century. This is just another way our country's global-warming policy will effect other nations if we do not act fast while we still have time. Once the U.S. gets on board with tackling global warming, we'll be able to work closely with other nations to solve the problem.
Al Gore Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
-- Katie -- 02/01/2007
This has been quite a month for Al Gore. Last week, "An Inconvenient Truth" was nominated for two Academy Awards. Today Al Gore was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. What award will he be nominated for next?!
Al Gore deserves considerable applause for his efforts to tell the story of global warming in theaters, auditoriums and living rooms across the country and around the world. He spent many lonely days in airports around the country spreading the gospel on why global warming is a problem and what we can do about it.
Thanks in no small part to Al Gore's work, the public now understands that global warming is one of the biggest challenges we'll face in the future. He also helped to elevate the issue and jumpstart the conversation in Congress on global warming solutions. It's so refreshing to see debates about action to combat global warming, rather than debating whether or not it even exists.
From evangelicals to CEO's to scientists, the debate has changed to what plan of action is needed to stop global warming pollution. And for the first time, the majority of 2008 presidential candidates are regularly talking about this important, global problem.
Now it’s personal?
-- Mike -- 02/01/2007
The Daily Mail in London is reporting that a hedgehog named Glen may be going bald due to global warming. Apparently, veterinarians believe that Glen is losing his prickles because of the stress of missing out on his winter hibernation.Alison Pearson, who runs the nearby Border Beasties hedgehog sanctuary, said:
"A lot of creatures miss out on hibernation. They don't recognise it is autumn because the weather is too warm or they hibernate and wake up after a few days of mild weather.
"We believe this little fellow missed out on his hibernation altogether and the stress of still being awake and trying to fend for himself has caused him to shed his prickles."
While the science behind global warming is solid and undeniable, I have yet to find a scientist - be it a climate change expert or hair loss expert - who is willing to speculate as to whether global warming is also the cause of my own premature balding.
A ‘leading issue’ in 2008
-- Mike -- 02/01/2007
The Everett Herald in Washington state published a must-read editorial today noting that global warming has become a top tier political issue. The piece is worth reading in its entirety, but here's the money quote:
But there is no longer doubt that addressing global warming will be a leading issue in the 2008 presidential campaign, one that every candidate will have to address prominently and in detail.
Yet further proof that the heat is on.
Just What is Romney’s Position on Global Warming?
-- John -- 01/31/2007
This week former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney spent two days in South Carolina shoring up support for his presidential bid, but while approached on more than one occasion to address global warming, he offered no immediate reactions. In 2004 Romney did have some thoughts on the issue, releasing a Climate Protection Plan for Massachusetts that would have followed the Kyoto Protocol by reducing the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2010. But Romney eventually backed off on the plan, and in December 2005 pulled out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an effort by other New England states to start reducing emissions in 2009 and by 2015 stabilize them at 2002-2004 levels. The deeper question perhaps is whether Romney is ready to commit to the fact that global warming is being caused by human activity. For example, in a July 2003 letter to New York Governor George Pataki, Romney writes, "I concur that climate change is beginning to effect on [sic] our natural resources and that now is the time to take action." But in a letter that appeared in the Boston Globe in May 2004, Romney states, "I read one book over the summer that said, 'gee, global warming is happening for reasons unrelated to human participation,' and other reports, far more, indicate, 'no no, it's very much driven by humans.' Well, I don't know." As recent quetsions from South Carolina citizens suggest, however, presidential candidates will need to be able to better explain their position on this serious problem.
The Cost of Inaction
-- Mike -- 01/31/2007
One of the favorite arguments of global warming deniers is that the financial costs of solving global warming are too great. But that claim is inaccurate and fails to properly consider the cost-benefit of action vs. inaction.
By comparison, consider the tragedy faced by the people of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. By some accounts, the costs of repairing and rebuilding this great American city could top $200 billion. However, as the New Republic reported in November 2005, a "study in 1998 estimated that New Orleans could be made safer against flooding caused by powerful hurricanes, at a cost of $14 billion, by restoring and sustaining Louisiana's coastal ecosystem."
That same sort of cost-benefit analysis should be applied to global warming as well.
The fact is the cost of investing in efforts to reduce carbon emissions, develop clean, renewable energy sources and improve energy efficiency pale in comparison to the cost of global warming's consequences years from now should we fail to address the causes of climate change.
However, as today's Los Angeles Times points out, efforts to combat global warming are gaining more attention. And just like education, health care and national security, climate change is now an issue that all candidates running for president must address and be prepared to discuss.
As the field grows, so does the issue
-- Adam -- 01/31/2007
A story in the Los Angeles Times today makes the point that global warming has the momentum to be a critical issue for presidential candidates throughout the 2008 cycle. Even with Congress stirring with hearings on the topic, "many" are pointing to 2008 as the political event that can really change the nation's direction away from fossil fuels. Concern has become strong on both sides of the aisle. One pollster, Whit Ayers, suggests that enough Republican voters care about the issue that candidates in the GOP primary cannot ignore it. "In a July 2006 survey of GOP voters, he found that a majority agreed that the Earth's temperature was rising and that human activity, not normal climate cycles, was the cause." So far, the increased public attention to this issue has worked to inspire several candidates to address it openly. With contenders now just piling into the field, it should be interesting to see how each responds to energized public demands for action.
House Chairman Suggests White House is Censoring Government Scientists
-- Katie -- 01/30/2007
This week during hearings on global warming in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Harry Waxman (D-CA) had some strong words to say about the administration and their possible censoring of government climate scientists.
Mr. Waxman and Ranking Member Tom Davis (R-VA) have been requesting the administration 's documents on climate change, seeking answers to whether the administration has been censoring government scientists on global warming as claimed by NASA climate scientist James Hanson in yesterday's New York Times. The administration has refused to answer the question or release any documents.
Representative Waxman said, " We know that the White House possesses documents that contain evidence of an attempt by senior administration officials to mislead the public by injecting doubt into the science of global warming and minimize the potential danger."
The administration has been unwilling to take any steps towards implementing solutions to global warming. By withholding scientific information on global warming they are exascerbating their disservice to the public. Americans deserve an open and honest discussion on the serious problem of global warming and we need all the information in order to do that.
For more information, see the NY Times and CNN.
Feeling the heat in New Hampshire
-- Mike -- 01/29/2007
I spent today in New Hampshire, and while in the Granite State I was fortunate enough to sit in on a briefing at the state house in Concord on the likely effects of climate change in the Northeastern United States. The presentation, given by two well-respected climate change experts, was attended by numerous members of the state legislature, as well as dozens of school-aged children, members of the environmental community and other concerned citizens.
The scientists illustrated that new climate projections for the Northeast show dramatic consequences for New Hampshire – from hotter temperatures to reduced snow pack to more extreme precipitation events. Fortunately, the fact that a presentation on global warming would garner such widespread interest – on a Monday afternoon nonetheless – is further proof that people recognize that it is time to take action on this issue.
I was particularly happy to see so many students in attendance, even if some of the science behind global warming may have gone over their heads. After all, it’s their generation – and their children’s generation – that will suffer the consequences if we fail to take serious steps to stop global warming. But their presence today at the capitol building is enough to give me hope that real change is on the way.
Duncan Hunter Chooses South Carolina to Announce Candidacy
-- John -- 01/28/2007
On Thursday, January 25, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) officially announced his candidacy for President in Spartanburg, SC. He did not field questions from the press or attendees, and spoke almost exclusively on the core principles of his campaign: "Border Enforcement"; "The War on Terror"; and "Fair and Equitable Trade." The next day during a campaign speech at the Charleston School of Law, Hunter made it a point to answer as many questions as possible. He fielded two questions on climate change.
One audience member asked, "What are you, as President, going to do about global warming?" Hunter responded that global warming is a problem and that we need to limit our carbon output, and then offered that he differs from other Republican candidates in that he believes we need to convert completely to ethanol fuel and that the catalyst for converting to ethanol should come from the military and the Department of Defense.
The second question came from Coastal Conservation League Program Director Megan Desrosiers, who addressed coastal South Carolina's vulnerability to rising sea levels and also the efforts of Governors Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California to develop energy policies to combat climate change. Hunter aimed for laughs by pointing out that Schwarzenegger owns beach front property, but then added, "I think California's climate change plan is great and I'm glad your governor is paying attention to the issue." He then chose not to address any specifics in the state plans or elaborate further on his plan to address climate change.
