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

Last week TPC reported on Rupert Murdoch’s most recent strategic business move–making News Corps Media (Fox News, 20th Century Fox, etc.) carbon neutral in three years.  Amanda Little from Grist had a chance to sit down with Murdoch and find out what motivated this new decision (go here to read the entire interview).  Businessmen and politicians better listen up, because Murdoch, a well-known “business savvy” guy, has a lot to say. 

For businessmen: Murdoch explains his “bottom-line argument for [his] climate program” is that “whatever it costs will be minimal compared to our overall revenues, and we’ll get that back many times over, by running a more efficient company and by growing morale among our employees.

For politicians:  Climate change would be like “a litmus test almost.  If you had someone totally opposed to doing anything about climate change, then I would oppose them.”  It’s nice to hear him talking about politics and climate change–that something needs to be done by our leaders.  But even though some candidates (and I won’t name names) have pretty much remained silent on the issue, I would hope that no one running for office would be “totally opposed to doing anything.”  That is not a litmus test, it means nothing.

President Clinton, who participated in a “green” cities conference in NYC earlier this week, was interviewed on NBC nightly news last night.  Clinton explained “we’ve known now for many years that the world is warming at an unsustainable rate, that it’s caused by human activity and that we’ve got to do something to turn it around.”  Clinton rattled off the environmental work he did during his time in office, and said that “this administration has not been willing to in effect limit carbon emissions and require reductions and create a market by pricing carbon” which is what he “thinks should be done.”  He drives a hybrid, has changed all of his light bulbs, and plans to do a complete “overhaul” of his 100 year farmhouse that “leaks” energy.  When asked about his wife, he remained relatively quiet saying “I do what I’m asked to do.” According to this article in the NY Times Hillary Clinton’s “campaign views Mr. Clinton’s highly visible work on [global warming] as a political plus.”  Maybe this is what he’s told to do.