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

In this article from Foster’s Daily Democrat Eric Hagman, Dover Deputy Fire Chief, said “We never imagined we’d have two hundred-year storms in two years.”  According to Cameron Wake, a research associate professor at UNH’s Climate Research Center, this shouldn’t come as a complete surprise.  “We can’t say this is due to global warming,” Wake explains, but “it is part of this trend and it is a window into what our climate might look like in the future.”  The IPCC’s most recent global warming report projects that North America’s East Coast will be particularly susceptible to “rising sea levels and increasingly strong storms.”  

And as you’re bailing out your basement think about what you want your senators and the next president to do about climate change.  in 2005 Senator John Sununu  voted against an energy bill that would have expressed the Senate’s desire for the U.S. to take action on climate change.  His senior, Senator Judd Gregg, voted for the bill. Today Sununu believes “that the average temperature is increasing and that there is a human component there,” but “the best models out there can’t calculate how much is human influence and how much isn’t.”  This article from the Concord Monitor notes that 150 NH towns have voted to have the national government take action on climate change.  Coupled with the latest convincing science (the IPCC report) hopefully the Senator will rethink his position the next time this comes to a Senate vote.

If China jumps off a bridge, does that mean the U.S. should too?  Thanks to the Bush Administration’s choice to use China’s rising emission levels as an excuse for U.S. passivity, we have been standing on the edge of the bridge for quite some time.  Fortunately, China may be headed in a new direction.  As a developing nation China was excused from binding emission targets set by the Kyoto Protocol (an international climate change treaty that the U.S. has not ratified).  On a trip to Tokyo last week, Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister, announced that China was ready to take part in new international negotiations set to limit greenhouse gas emissions. This editorial in The New York Times says that “such caps would be costly medicine, which China is unlikely to swallow as long as the U.S. doesn’t  do so as well–thus using America as a cover for inaction just as Mr. Bush is using China to excuse his own.” 

Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency’s Administrator, Dave Johnson, announced that there has only been a 1% growth in greenhouse gas emissions since 2005, which he says demonstrates that the voluntary approach the Bush Administration has been advocating “is delivering real results.”  But aren’t we trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?  Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch responded to this announcement: ‘’Things have come to a pretty sad state of affairs when the EPA tries to spin increased greenhouse gas emissions as a victory.”   (Read the entire story here.)

After arriving an hour and fifteen minutes late (although I think I was the only person who seemed to notice), Hillary Clinton began her “conversation” with a packed gymnasium at Manchester Central High School last Friday.  She spoke about health care, the war in Iraq, setting goals as a nation, and trying to “reverse the damage of the last six years.”   ”Global climate change” (the Clinton campaign’s terminology for global warming) was touched upon in her opener–investing in energy technologies and plans for a strategic energy fund–but it wasn’t until the very end of the “conversation” when a young member of the audience asked her about alternative and renewable energy options, that she elaborated on the subject.  And with at least five “also’s” she certainly did elaborate:

“I include global climate change with energy because you’ve got to look at them as part of the same package…We need a renewable portfolio standard so that we are going to have goals…we need a decentralized system…we have to do a lot more on biofuels…we have to do a lot more on cellulosic…we need to have more access to alternative fuels…a cap and trade system to try to control greenhouse gas emissions…we have to do more with conservation and energy efficiency…”  (listen to audio clips here.)

Someone in the Clinton campaign must have read up on the March 1st conference in Concord “Climate Change and Working Forests: A Conference for Citizens Concerned with the Future of NH Forests.”  “People cannot just be thinking we can do it in the midwest” she said, “in NH and New York we have things we can turn into energy.”  Clinton talked about cellulosic alternatives and specifically noted that paper mills in Berlin could be used as a great energy resource.

Of course her most significant point was that solar panels need to be more affordable and we need to “change the color from blue because some people don’t want blue on their roofs.”  Thanks Hil.  Finally a candidate who understands the real issues.  I’ve like totally been wanting to install solar panels, but the blue just like won’t match my house.  

On another note…as far as we can tell the only two candidates who participated in a Step It Up event this weekend were Kucinich and Edwards.  Apparently we are too optimistic in this office.  Despite the lack of candidate support, the day was an overwhelming success.

We’re placing bets in the office–how many presidential candidates will attend a Step It Up event tomorrow?  Edwards is a definite.  He’s not only taking part in an event (although he doesn’t mention which one)  but he’s also set up a webpage that urges his supporters to join him.  Kucinich is also in and will actually be in Portsmouth at 1:00 tomorrow.  Stay tuned for the results on Monday.  The guy on my left put his money on 8, and I’m hoping he comes up short.  To take part in this national day of climate action (there are 1367 events planned around the country so no excuses) go to Stepitup2007.org. 

Other news for the weekend…Hillary Clinton will be in Concord and Manchester today and Hampton tomorrow, Joe Biden will hold a town hall meeting in Laconia tomorrow night, Mitt Romney will keynote a Lincoln Day Dinner at Mt. Sunapee Ski Lodge, and Kucinich will make the rounds on Saturday and Sunday, along with other events.  To find out where the candidates will be, go here.