WMUR = UGH (or, what’s the 3 letter word I’m looking for?)
January 23rd, 2008 by Carbon CoalitionWell, WMUR television finally steps to the plate with a global warming story today. It is sad, but believable that the station would waste 1-2 minuts of airtime on this tripe.
Too bad all the candidates are gone; I imagine this would be the only way Scott Spradling would engage a candidate on TV on the global warming issue. What a maroon. Sure, they’re fair and balanced because the station did FINALLY- after months of ignoring requests - put climate change into the mix of candidate comparisons.
He’s engaged: NH Governor Lynch included climate change in his remarks today in his State of the State address:
Left unchecked, global climate change will dramatically change our environment in New Hampshire. That’s why I’ve created a Climate Change Task Force to develop a comprehensive strategy for continuing to address this critical issue. In addition, New Hampshire has joined nine other states, stretching from Maine to Delaware, to develop the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, a leading cause of climate change. We must work together to develop the best possible legislation for New Hampshire. But we must also make sure New Hampshire does not get left behind. The rest of the Northeast is already implementing RGGI. According to the University of New Hampshire, if we do not join RGGI, New Hampshire will see higher costs and job losses. By joining RGGI, and investing its proceeds in energy efficiency, New Hampshire ratepayers will save money and our state will add jobs. That’s why we must join together to pass the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative this year.—————–> Note that the Task Force is well-balanced, and includes no fewer than five members of the Carbon Coalition Steering Committee. The Task Force met for the first time January 18, and is charged with delivering recommendations for a comprehensive state plan to the Governor in September 2008. Would that be before or after the state primary election?
—————–> Note that the Task Force is well-balanced, and no fewer than members of the . The Task Force met for the first time January 18, and is charged with delivering recommendations for a comprehensive state plan to the Governor in September 2008. Would that be before or after the state primary election?
January 30th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
WMUR’s Holy Smokes news story brings to mind my regional paper’s reader opinion editorials from last week. The January 24 edition of the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript ran 3 letters to the editor which may indicate that our local papers still feel it necessary or politically correct to give “air time” to those who believe that the world is still “flat”, or in the case of these letters “it might be a tiny bit curved”. The titles of the three letters were: Gore exemplifies shrill alarmism on global warming, Ice in Glacier Bay began melting before 1800, and Green building policy wasteful and counter-productive. It is probably not worth anyone’s time to respond to some of these letters, as it usually becomes a pointless ……ing contest - as former state senator Mark Fernald found out when he responded to one of these authors a week prior.
So…. best to ignore them, take them as a sign that there are folks in the Granite State who have their own set ideas on climate change, and rest uneasy with the fact that they will continue to try to influence others by them – from billboards to local opinion pages. But…this can also serve as a reminder that a patient ear is still appropriate for those who still have sincere questions about climate change and how to address it. Listening, open discussion, and education, are they key.
There are endless things to learn and points to discuss about this complicated issue, and we all need to be open to learning more and to continue the dialogue within our communities as well. My compliments to the Granite State Conservation Voters Alliance and their guest speakers for exemplifying this approach this morning at their legislative preview breakfast “Building Bipartisan Solutions for New Hampshire’s Environment” – a superb program that outlined the many challenges that lie ahead for all of us.
-Rachel