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

The clock is ticking so get out your snorkels and strap on your crampons.  According to the newest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is a “very high confidence” that the Himalayan glaciers will rapidly melt and that “significant loss of biodiversity” is possible in parts of Australia such as the Great Barrier Reef by 2020.  The report, released today, is the IPCC’s “bleakest forecast yet” about the worldwide impacts of global warming–impacts range from desertification, rising sea levels, drought, and even “severe economic damage.”  The report was finalized this morning after a long night of negotiations over the text.  (Read the entire story from Reuters here.)

Dennis Kucinich had a town hall meeting in Warner yesterday.  An 11-year-old girls asked him what he would do to stop global warming.  His response: “My pledge to you as a young person is I’m going to make sure that this issue of climate change, that we address this issue continuously and unite as a nation in a discussion about how best to do that.”  Discussion?  According to IPCC’s report, we might not have a lot of time for that.  (Read the entire story from the Union Leader here.)

Last night WMUR Channel 9 News aired a short segment “Experts: Climate Change Could Have Major Impact on NH, Data Show Temperatures Have Risen Over the Last Century.”  The piece (shown here) reported on the threats that global warming poses (and in some cases, are already in evidence) to NH’s four-season climate: early ice out dates, heat waves, autumn droughts, heavy rains and flooding events, sea level rise, etc.  The three climate experts interviewed, Barry Rock, Cameron Wake, and David Brown, warned of a warming trend that could make the state’s climate more like that of Virginia or North Carolina by 2100.   Overall it was a great segment despite newscaster Tom Griffith’s editorializing about scientists not being in agreement over this.  It was late when this was aired so I ‘m guessing he dozed off during the part where the three experts all spoke in agreement of these changes.

A week ago TPC clarified some rumors that made the rounds during Town Meeting.  This article in The Cabinet Press reported on another rumor that hopefully doesn’t need any clarifying.  A resident in Lyndeborough spoke out against the Climate Change Resolution claiming if the government were to do what the article suggests then “it might ration gas or impose a carbon tax” or even “follow China’s path and limit the number of children people have to cut down on carbon emissions.”  Apparently (and fortunately) not everyone was on the same page as this resident and in the end “the Earth won by 14 votes.” 

Since his February 23 announcement that he no longer is in the presidential race, my Inbox has been absent of emails from Tom Vilsack, that is until today:

“I’m not someone to play coy about my intentions.  When I make a decision, I go all in and follow through.  Hillary Clinton has the same determination, and it is something I have always admired…”

That’s an interesting beginning to an endorsement letter after making a mere two and a half month campaign effort before dropping out of the race–and Clinton shares his “follow through” and “determination?”  Nevertheless, the letter announces an official endorsement of Clinton praising her ideas about the war, health care, and energy independence.  The letter fails to mention the financial support the Clinton campaign has offered Vilsack to help alleviate some of the $430,000 debt he acquired during his brief stint as a candidate.  According to the NYT political blog The Caucus, Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, said “Senator Clinton has been close to the Vilsacks for years and if she can be helpful, she will.”

In other news, new research from Yale University shows that 83% of Americans believe global warming is a “serious” issue.  Even more significantly, the survey revealed that 63% of Americans agree that the United States “is in as much danger from environmental hazards, such as air pollution and global warming, as it is from terrorists.”  

According to this article in the New York Times, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that this winter, between December and February, was the warmest winter season world-wide ever recorded.  The next warmest winter on record was 2004 and then 1998.  In fact, since 1995 we’ve seen the ten warmest years ever recorded. 

Fortunately, the Granite State will be buzzing with presidential candidates this weekend, providing a perfect opportunity for us to ask them how they plan to address these warming trends.  Sen. Barack Obama, who’s called global warming “one of the major tests of our generation,” will be in Keene and Claremont tonight.  Sen. Chris Dodd will visit Bedford, Hampton, and Concord this weekend.  Dodd has said “the critically important challenges of global warming, and threats to our rivers and air can’t be ignored and need to be addressed.”   Sen. Joe Biden will be in Manchester on Saturday.  Last week he told an audience in South Carolina “If I could wave a wand, and the Lord said I could solve one problem, I would solve the energy crisis. That’s the single most consequential problem we can solve. It’s what you have to do to get greenhouse gases under control.”  And Sen. McCain will make his first visit to the state since he officially declared his candidacy.  McCain has said, “Americans solve problems. We don’t run from them.  We all know that greenhouse gases are accumulating in the atmosphere and the effects of this change are already being observed today.  The consequences of inaction pose a serious and unacceptable threat to our environment, our economy, and U.S. national security.”

Agreed.  So how do you plan to address these challenges?