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

A letter from today’s Keene Sentinel is right on:

“As we approach the end of what could be called the nation’s toughest job interview, there are still many more questions to be asked of our presidential hopefuls.

In these final weeks before the primary, it is of the upmost importance to continue to question the candidates about their plans to address climate change.

Not to diminish the importance of issues such as Iraq and health care, but climate change is equally if not more critical.

To quote Tim Flannery, internationally renowned scientist and explorer as he writes about climate change, ‘In the years to come this issue will dwarf all the others combined.  It will become the only issue.’

How could he infer that problems such as health care or the war in Iraq could be forced a back seat to global warming?

Perhaps it’s because our climate is warming much faster than models had predicted just a few years ago, an acceleration that is pushing the problem ever further from our control.  And if humans are allowed to continue to court disaster with the Earth’s thermostat, it won’t be long before our nation finds itself overburdened with merely trying to deal with the consequences, leaving little time and resources for the myriad other issue important to the safety and well-being of America.

Here in New Hampshire we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to keep the candidate’s toes to the coals on this issue.

So, please, when you are out there at an event, make it a point to ask the candidates for more specifics, and ask harder questions about their plans to address climate change.

And if your favorite candidate has not yet developed a comprehensive plan of action, then insist that they draw one up and share it with you.

Rachel Courtney, Dublin.”

Well Put Rachel.

A large crowd gathered outside of the Obama and Oprah event in Manchester to demonstrate their concern about climate change.  Santa, Frosty, a few polar bears and a number of NH voters greeted over 8,000 as they filed inside the Verizon Center.  The enthusiasm outside made up for the lack of global warming discussion during the event.

The Seacoast Media Group hosted John McCain for a forum on climate change and energy security.  McCain spoke about how hearing about climate change from NH citizens in 2000 caused him to study and embrace the issue.  He proudly stated that he would match his environmental record with anybody.

There were no major policy changes to McCain’s climate policies but he was able to clarify his stances on cap and trade, drilling in ANWR, and nuclear power.

Watch video from the forum:

McCain explains how a cap and trade uses market forces to succeed.

McCain answers a question from an Air Force vet about how our military will be forced to quell resource wars caused by global warming.

McCain explains his position on domestic drilling.

Giuliani, Romney, and Thompson have not yet held or attended forums focused on addressing climate change.  Both McCain and Huckabee attended a NH global warming conference in October.

John McCain and Curt Schilling hosted a “Politics and Sports” town hall meeting in Manchester last night.  The questions varied between the two topics, including one that directly addressed both a man’s favorite sport and his biggest political concern: global warming.

A hunter in an orange hat stood up and told McCain that he would offer McCain his vote if he would sign onto the Warner-Lieberman bill.  McCain explained that the bill is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without imposing burden on taxpayers and that the only problem he has with the legislation is that he feels nuclear power needs to be a big part of the solution.

Later in the program, McCain asked to hear from a snowman in the back of the room who was holding a ”Make Global Warming a Priority” sign.  To the audience’s surprise, the snowman directed his question to Curt Schilling.  The snowman explained that global warming is not only a scientific and political problem, but a leadership problem and asked Curt how he could offer leadership to Americans who use twice as much energy as the average European.

The Union Leader picked up on Schilling’s response, quoting “The next time I hear a politician talk about global warming and then hop in a Hummer and drive away, I’m going to throw up.”

Audio for the Hunter’s Q&A

Audio for the Snowman’s Q&A