Getting in Hot Water
January 23rd, 2007 by Carbon CoalitionBill Thompson, owner of North Country Angler in North Conway, wrote this letter to the Conway Daily Sun. He said it’s been hard to ignore the latest talk of the town–”hot enough for you?” or “you think there is anything to this global warming thing?” “The fact is” he writes “most would agree there is something indeed to this global warming thing.” He says a warm winter or two should not necessarily be cause for concern, but instead it is the trend that is “undeniable.” As an angler he is already beginning to see the effects–the striper population of northeastern coastal waters already seems to be showing signs of decline as ocean waters have warmed by “nearly a full degree” since 1980. Thompson argues that Americans are watching as “the situation is deteriorating before our eyes,” yet the issue has been so divided by party lines that nothing has been done.
This article from the Washington Post ”Internal Rifts Cloud Democrats’ Opportunity on Warming” only amplifies the point that this issue has been caught in a political storm. Last week TPC reported here that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has plans to speed up legislation on global warming. Some, like Jay Inslee of Washington, agree with Pelosi ”this should not be a debating year. this should be an action year.” But not everyone is in agreement. John Dingell, chairman of the committee Pelosi is challenging “has made it clear that he expected to lead the party’s global warming debate in a rather leisurely fashion.” He said global warming is a priority, but not the only priority.
A recent Washington Post-ABC poll shows that only 27 percent of Americans approves the way Bush is handling the issue of global warming. Will these numbers change after his State of the Union Speech tonight? Stay tuned.
