Dean and the Primary, are we back in 04?
August 22nd, 2007 by Carbon CoalitionHurricane Dean was the third most intense Atlantic hurricane ever measured, and it ravaged Caribbean islands earlier this week and made landfall in Mexico yesterday with winds of 165 miles per hour. Now six of the top ten most powerful hurricanes ever recorded have occurred within the last ten years.
Chris Mooney writes in The Daily Green blog: “This staggering decade has occurred in part because of anomalously warm ocean temperatures in the hurricane-prone regions. Many scientists question whether you can explain these warm anomalies without invoking global warming as at least part of the cause.” One can only wonder how the increasing frequency of intense hurricanes has changed public opinion about climate change.
John Krosnick conducts research at Stanford University focusing extensively on the public opinion of climate change. In an interview with E&E TV, Krosnick discusses the two ways in which he believes people come to the conclusion that climate change is real. First is that they listen to a majority of scientists. Second is that they themselves pay attention to the changing environment in which they live and breathe. Though there is no proof that climate change caused the mega-storm, Hurricane Dean is a devastating reminder of our changing climate.
Krosnick also found that the general public “absolutely” wants government to get involved to combat climate change. This has been clear to New Hampshire since the climate change resolution passed in 164 New Hampshire towns this March. “The wonderful thing for politicians” Krosnick replied to a question about the 2008 elections, “is the fact that such huge majorities of Americans are on same side. They believe it’s a problem. They believe it needs to be addressed.” These ideas are not new on the pages of TPC.
Both TPC and Senator Barack Obama have been recently discussing biofuels - TPC in our blog entry “Memo to Candidates: We Don’t Grow Corn in New Hampshire. We Grow Wood“ and Obama at a house party in Salem on Monday. Obama told the crowd that the federal government should invest in cellulosic ethanol made from wood chips, an industry with potential in New Hampshire. Obama also suggested that the rise in food costs (a product of increased corn ethanol production) would subside as high prices would only encourage farmers to grow more corn.
The specifics of Senator Obama’s support for corn and cellulosic ethanol are not yet outlined as part of a climate change plan, but it is clear that he is a fan of biofuels and would like the federal government to invest in them.
