The Political Climate: an ongoing commentary on the NH Primary and Climate Change

The Granite State is a popular political stop for possible presidential contenders as Nov. 7th draws near.  John McCain will be in Dixville Notch tonight backing NH Rep. incumbent Charlie Bass.  First lady Laura Bush will promote the Republican party at a get-out-the-vote event next Monday in Manchester, and Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will be in NH on Nov. 3rd to be the keynote speaker at  Victory NH, a Republican activist group. 

Speaking of Bass, it seems that right now he might just need all the help he can get.  2nd District U.S. House Democratic challenger Paul Hodes is supposedly neck and neck with Bass.  He’s recently added Bob Stevenson, an experienced political communications director, to volunteer “as a friend” to do “whatever needs to be done.”  View the whole story here from the Union Leader’s “Granite Status.”

“Heavy Reading” has suddenly taken on a whole new meaning.  A recent study published by the Heinz Center estimates that one copy of Time Magazine produces on average .29 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.  If you’re one of the many who receive a weekly copy of the magazine, that adds up to an estimated 15.8 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions a year–and that’s only one of the magazines filling up your mailbox. 

The Heinz study, reported in this article in the New York Times, with participation from Time Inc. calculated the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the entire publishing process of Time and In Style.  Heinz studied the magazine making process  from the breaking down of wood fiber to the distribution of the product.  Donald Carli, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Communication, says “there’s a hidden life that products have, and one of the challenges of sustainability is to make these lives known.”

With the results in hand, Time Inc. has pledged to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout every step of the process.   It hopes to begin reduction efforts by asking its paper mills, which account for the majority of the emissions in the magazine-making process, to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2012. 

As New Englanders fret about climate change impacts to their maple syrup industry, the folks Down Under have similar worries, although theirs are a bit more intoxicating.  The worst recorded drought in Australian history is devastating the region and bringing to light future concerns for the country.  CSIRO, Australia’s most prominent science organization, has recently told the country’s $3.6 billion dollar wine industry that it needs to start shaping future plans that take climate change into account.  Temperatures in the region are predicted to rise 3 degrees Fahrenheit by 2030 which could potentially impact grape quality by 12%-57% (read the Washington Post story here.)

Worldwide research and international scientific reports have made it clear that global warming is truly a global problem.  Despite US opposition to the Kyoto Protocol world leaders are still working to make global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.  Today representatives of the US and the European Union meet in Finland to discuss “climate change, clean energy and sustainable development ‘on a political level.’” Finnish Environmental Minister Jan-Erik Enestam says that because Kyoto is “dead in the United States” the hope for the conference is to “concentrate on other issues and new tracks.” This article in the Washington Post reports on the conference. 

The Union Leader and WMUR are hosting NH District congressional  debates this week.  Tonight you can watch 1st District U.S. House Candidates Rep. Jeb Bradely faces off against Dem. Carol Shea Porter, and Wednesday tune it to see 2nd District candidates Rep. Charlie Bass go head to head with Dem. Paul Hodes.  For the entire debate schedule from the Union Leader click here.

Climate Change speakers come to NH campuses.  At UNH on Wednesday from 3:00-4:00 Stacy D. VanDeveer, Associate Professor of Political Science, will speak about “Contemporary Climate Change Politics.”  New York Times environmental reporter Andy Revkin will be at Dartmouth College speaking about his latest book, “The North Pole was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World” Wednesday at 4:30, and he participates in a roundtable discussing at the Hanover Inn on Thursday from 8:30-11:30am (click here for more information.)

The National Center for Atmospheric Research released information from a climate change report that is due in December.  The study, published in this article in the Chicago Tribune, relied on international, multiyear efforts that used 9 of the world’s top computer models to predict future climate patterns.  The results, once again, reaffirm predictions made in numerous other studies: “the world will likely suffer more extended droughts, heavy rainfalls, and longer heat waves over the next century.” 

Vermonters concerned about global warming have a win-win situation in November.  Both Peter Welch and Martha Rainville have pledged to fight global warming.  Candidate Peter Welch has taken this stand for a while, but for candidate Martha Rainville the position is relatively new.  This article in the Rutland Herald reports on Rainville’s recent change of heart, where three months ago she was saying, “what is global warming,” and now she says “the issues of global warming impact the economy, future job creation, agriculture and tourism.”

The rumor mill may have actually been accurate when speculating about Illinois Senator Barack Obama’s intentions to run for presidency in 2008.  Yesterday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Obama announced that “given the reponses that [he’s] received over the last several months, [he] has thought about the possibility.”  Obama will make a formal announcement after elections on November 7th (click here to read the article in the Union Leader.)