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

Yesterday the Bush administration proposed to list the polar bear, the largest land mammal in the Arctic, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, citing global warming as the principle threat to the bear’s future (for more, see yesterday’s blog).

Today former North Carolina senator John Edwards announced his candidacy for president. The photo-op was in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, Louisiana (state mammal: black bear).

Edwards will be in New Hampshire on Friday (state mammal: white-tailed deer).

What, in John Edwards’ mind, does American leadership in the world’s battle against global warming really mean? In March 2004, John Edwards said, “I support strong environmental protection, higher CAFE standards, protection of ANWR, and American leadership in the world’s battle against global warming.” We recall that in October of 2003, just five months before sharing his commitment for American leadership on climate change, Edwards was nowhere to be found when the historic senate vote on the McCain-Lieberman bill was cast. He never did cast a vote because he was in the hinterlands campaigning for president.

When Edwards comes to New Hampshire, press him on specifics regarding global warming policies and his level of commitment, and share your thoughts in this blog. If there is the slightest, slimmest chance that the polar bear listing is a signal for any actions or policy changes on global warming from the Bush administration over the next two years, the presidential candidates in both parties will have an opportunity and an obligation to influence current administration policies from the campaign trail.

By the way, North Carolina’s state mammal is the grey squirrel. Oh my.

Polar bears have become an iconic symbol of global warming. Polar bears swim from ice flow to ice flow as they hunt and the diminishing polar sea ice has led bears to hunt in open waters and even resort to cannabilism. Now the Bush administration has proposed adding polar bears to the endangered species list. This article in the Washington Post points out the underlying assumption that global warming is causing sea ice to melt leading to expected declines in the polar bear population. This is both a rare action by the administration based on the effects of global warming and a possible avenue for government regulation of CO2 emissions to protect this new endangered species.

The Union Leader again reports on the mild, dry winter’s effect on the winter tourism industry in New Hampshire. Plus, John DiStaso looks ahead to 2007, Joe Biden announces his White House bid, and John Edwards will announce in New Orleans tomorrow and then head to Portsmouth for an event on Friday.

Global warming is insinuating itself into people’s lives. The extreme example is the island  nation of Tuvalu, whose citizens see their country’s very existence threatened by global warming-induced rising sea levels. More subtly, people in some regions of the United States are beginning to see their insurance options narrowed as insurers become increasingly aware of the impact that rising sea levels and stronger storms will have on their bottom lines. In Maryland, for instance, insurance companies are beginning to deny coverage in coastal areas most likely to experience hurricane damage. This reflects lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina (though Allstate still pulled in nearly $2 billion in profit in 2005, despite those payouts). Cherry-picking customers is good for the insurance industry but bad for Americans, and if you think that it doesn’t effect us up here where hurricanes rarely stray, think about who picks up the bill when the government has to fund reconstruction efforts traditionally financed by insurance payouts.

Presidential wannabes, or perhaps more fittingly for the “undeclared,” the wannabe wannabes,  want to ensure that Granite Staters don’t feel alone this holiday season. 

Barack Obama sent out an e-letter holiday greeting to all Granite Staters on his mailing list.  But more noteworthy, he apparently sent “thank you” cards to all attendees, not just the leaders, at his Dec. 10th event. That would be more than 1,500 cards (Read the article here.)  Makes you wonder, how serious is this guy about global warming?  Or maybe he figures postal trucks are run on ethanol?

Gov. Mitt Romney’s hush hush visit to NH played out yesterday at a venue in Manchester.  Romney told members in attendance that conservative voters in NH will see “the proof is in the pudding.  People will have a chance to look at my records as Gov. of Massachusetts and see what I’ve done there.  Talk is cheap but action is not.”  Good point, though we’re not sure what climate activists in the Bay State would say about the Romney record on global warming.  Though Massachusetts had taken a lead in the fight, in the end, performance by Romney was mixed. Nevertheless, a little talk in that direction wouldn’t hurt.  Also, the gossip concerning Romney’s official presidential run announcement is likely false information.  He is scheduled for a January 8th fundraiser in Boston, which is the date rumors had him announcing his candidacy. (Read the entire story from the Union Leader here.)

And Sen. John Edwards is apparently not waiting in the wings for long.  According to this article in the Union Leader he is expected to declare his official candidacy for president Thursday the 28th in New Orleans, and then he’s immediately rushing off to our first-in-the-nation state to participate in a Town Hall style event in Portsmouth on the 29th.  For more information on this event visit the Carbon Coalition’s Presidential Candidate Calendar.