US senators: Global warming obvious in far north

[Rose Siding]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Fresh from visits to Canada's Yukon Territory and Alaska's northernmost city, four U.S. senators said on Wednesday that signs of rising temperatures on Earth are obvious and they called on Congress to act.
"If you can go to the Native people and walk away with any doubt about what's going on, I just think you're not listening," said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democrat Hillary Clinton of New York told reporters in Anchorage that Inupiat Eskimo residents in Barrow, Alaska, have found their ancestral land and traditional lifestyle disrupted by disappearing sea ice, thawing permafrost, increased coastal erosion and changes to wildlife habitat.
....
Such observations provide more ammunition in the fight for a bill, co-sponsored by McCain and Connecticut Democrat Joe Lieberman, to cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, McCain said....

"People around the country are going to demand it," McCain said. "It's the special interests versus the people's interest."

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=9404891&src=rss/ElectionCoverage

[despairing optimist]

1. McCain frets over global warming but is cool with nuking Iran?

There I go again, trying to connect dots and make sense of things.

[renaissanceguy]

18. Welcome to the age of

political expediency. Very few have principles. It's all about their damn careers...and the worse part is that the masses defend it!

http://www.cafepress.com/liberalissues/472476

[ToeBot]

29. Easy! Nuclear Winter cancels Global Warming! n/t

[BrightKnight]

2. That is why we need to drill in ANWR now.

When the glaciers and tundra melt it is going to be a muddy mess. It will be impossible to get any heavy equipment in there.

[shockra]

3. Glad they're here.

I'm watching them on the local news.

[iamjoy]

4. Lindsey Graham?

Never had him pegged as an environmentalist.
If he's ready to start talking about global warming we must be in deep doo-doo

or there's a catch. After all, he is a Republican politician, mendacious by nature.

[CheshireCat]

23. Lindsey Graham!

As a South Carolinian, Lindsey Graham has surprised me by his reasonable stand on some issues. Since elected, Graham has taken a stand with those in Congress who want to fight the "BIG Brother" and ethically challenged politics of the facists in charge.

These days, I am noticing ANY politician who is willing to stand up for the truth - no matter what it is.

[sintax]

5. Senators Attest to Alaska Climate Change

My Comment: So does that mean we get a sane energy policy, mass transportation program to cut greenhouse gasses and reduction in military spending(largest single contributor to greenhouse gasses)?

Senators Attest to Alaska Climate Change

Thursday August 18, 2005 3:46 AM

By DAN JOLING

Associated Press Writer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Anyone doubting the effects of human activity on global climate change should talk to the people it affects in Alaska and the Yukon, U.S. Sen. John McCain said Wednesday.

Fresh from a trip to Barrow, America's northernmost city, McCain said anecdotes from Alaskans and residents of the Yukon Territory confirm scientific evidence of global warming.

``We are convinced that the overwhelming scientific evidence indicated that climate change is taking place and human activities play a very large role,'' McCain said.

McCain, accompanied by Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., spoke to villagers in Canada whose spruce trees are being attacked by the northward spread of spruce beetles. On Alaska's northern coast, they met Native Alaskans dealing with melting permafrost and coastal erosion.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5217547,00.html

[neverforget]

6. They (Bush Administration/right wing) don't care.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[existentialist]

7. That's right. They don't care.

And this is one more point on which we can demonstrate how out of touch they are.

And have to if we are to be responsible citizens who do care.

[hatrack]

8. No, that would be entirely too logical, Sintax . . .

Kind of like expecting McCain to support a presidential candidate who would try - at least TRY - to do something about climate breakdown befoe it's totally out of our hands.

Like I said, entirely too logical . . . :shrug:

[DeepModem Mom]

9. kick

[wallwriter]

10. This will be just like military service in Iraq.

There will be a lot of chest thumping, but when it comes to actual sacrifice--dumping the SUVs and taking the bus, they will expect the other guy to do the work.

"I need an SUV to work for freedom at home. We're not the kind of people who use mass transit."

[sabra]

11. Senators: Global warming signs obvious

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/18/environment.warming.reut/

Senators: Global warming signs obvious

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) -- Fresh from visits to Canada's Yukon Territory and Alaska's northernmost city, four U.S. senators said that signs of rising temperatures on Earth are obvious and they called on Congress to act.

"If you can go to the Native people and listen to their stories and walk away with any doubt that something's going on, I just think you're not listening," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina.

Sens. John McCain, R-Arizona, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, told reporters Wednesday in Anchorage that Inupiat Eskimo residents in Barrow have found their ancestral land and traditional lifestyle disrupted by disappearing sea ice, thawing permafrost, increased coastal erosion and changes to wildlife habitat.

Heat-stimulated beetle infestation also has killed vast amounts of the spruce forest in the Yukon Territory, they said.

[rodeodance]

12. "People around the country are going to demand it," McCain said. yeah

right John!!!! Is the WH and the press demanding action?----nope, most are calling it junk science.



.......Such observations provide more ammunition in the fight for a bill, co-sponsored by McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Connecticut, to cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, McCain said. That bill repeatedly has failed to pass the Senate.

"People around the country are going to demand it," McCain said. "It's the special interests versus the people's interest."

The United States is the biggest emitter of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, which many scientists have linked to global warming.

[Quakerfriend]

14. But, they allow Phillip Cooney, attny who

falsified gov't reports on global warming, to quietly slip off into private practice.

Sounds to me like John is preparing to run for prez!

[underpants]

13. Let's see last February those liberals over at the Pentagon..........

Now the Pentagon tells Bush: climate change will destroy us
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1153513,00.html

World Bank, Pentagon: Global Warming Red Alert
Weather of Mass Destruction Bigger Threat Than Terrorism
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/wbank/2004/0222pentagon.htm

The Pentagon Sounds The Alarm On Global Warming; Why Isn't President Bush Listening?
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-13.htm

[rodeodance]

15. Inhofe from OK says climate warming is a HOAK--

The United States is the biggest emitter of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, which many scientists have linked to global warming.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has dismissed global warming as a hoax and questioned scientific evidence supporting rising temperatures.

The White House has warned that mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions could stunt U.S. economic growth. President Bush supports a voluntary plan for industry to cut greenhouse gas output.

Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[underpants]

16. "could stunt U.S. economic growth"

as opposed to.....?

[Megahurtz]

20. Hoax? What a Dumbass!

Or does he actually think anyone is going to go along with that stupid determination?
(yes I know, there are other dumbasses)
It doesn't take a fucking rocket scientist to figure out what the fossil fuels are doing to our air!
Inhofe probably doesn't want to give up his precious SUV.

And Bush "supports a voluntary plan for industry to cut greenhouse gas output"???

I bet all of those corporations are just going to jump $$$$$$$$ at that one. $$$$$$$$$$$:eyes:

[olddad56]

17. Western Siberia...

Just because a million square kilometer peat bog in Western Siberia that has been frozen since the ice age is thawing out and will release BILLION of tons of methane gas into the environment as it thaws out, doesn't mean that Global warming is actually happening. If global warming as actually happening, it would be covered by fox news. I'm sure it would.

[hatrack]

19. Oh, it's much worse than that

Since methane is roughtly 24 times as effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere, the estimated 70 billion tons of the stuff already bubbling up from Siberia will serve as the equivalent of not quite 1.7 TRILLION tons of CO2 entering the atmosphere.

The good news, such as it is, is that methane only lasts about 10-15 years in the atmosphere, as opposed to CO2, which hangs out for about a century before recirculation and absorption.

[olddad56]

26. Well sports fans, I'd say that about wraps it up for this planet.

[existentialist]

35. Methane breaking down in the atmosphere

And what does it break down to?


(CH4 + 2 O2 = CO2 + 2 H2O)

[buzzard]

37. Which is why the tar sands projects are an environmental nightmare they

may have a long reserve life but at what cost. At least our government has signed on to Kyoto but even that is not enough. All that money spent on wars could really be doing something useful if we had enlightened leaders in power.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/22/MNG46CMUPL60.DTL

"The fact remains that the oil sands are the most dirty, wasteful way of obtaining energy on the planet," said Elizabeth May, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada. "At a time when global warming is an increasing problem, why should this industry be expanded willy-nilly to make the problem worse?"

[hatrack]

39. Somebody summed it up quite neatly

The Athabascan tar sands project(s) are all about turning cheap natural gas into very, very expensive synthetic oil.

[hatrack]

21. Yeah, whatever John

You'll doubtless soon issue a resounding call for action - an exciting new voluntary initiative featuring America's vanishingly tiny alternative energy sector as the target of billions of dollars in subsidies, and then you'll get to look all green for the Tee-vee.

Your buddy Chimpy will remark about how seriously he takes this issue, and demand more studies, since it's absolutely vital that we know to a factor of certainty approaching infinity that it's really happening. Further studies will then be necessary to determine just what percentage of emissions are due to human activity and what percentage to natural processes, because, doncha know, if we didn't emit it, we are immune to its effects.

As the 2006 midterm elections approach, the airwaves will groan beneath the weight of images conjured by the booming PR industry as concerned politicians busy themselves telling us all about our Healthy Forests, our Clear Skies and the miraculous hydrogen vehicles that are coming soon to a showroom floor near you. No, seriously, they are - really, they are!

And meanwhile, glaciers will evaporate, ice shelves will buckle, permafrost will slump to bogs and muskeg on a scale we can't even imagine, fisheries will collapse, forests will die and burn, grasslands will wither and rivers will dry up, all indifferent to our votes, our denial and bargaining, our political persuasions or our resounding calls for actions.

Fuck you, Senator, and the party and corporations you rode in on. Too damn late.

[pauldavid]

22. In other news, President Bush is Pushing New Global Warming Bill

Giving millions in federal aid to christian Conservative groups to pray to God to heal the earth. An amendment would also give aid to Halliburton for research into building a giant diesel powered air conditioner to keep Alaska cool.

[pazarus]

24. Senators: Global warming signs obvious (CNN)

Link to cnn article

Sens. John McCain, R-Arizona, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, told reporters Wednesday in Anchorage that Inupiat Eskimo residents in Barrow have found their ancestral land and traditional lifestyle disrupted by disappearing sea ice, thawing permafrost, increased coastal erosion and changes to wildlife habitat.

...

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has dismissed global warming as a hoax and questioned scientific evidence supporting rising temperatures.

The White House has warned that mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions could stunt U.S. economic growth. President Bush supports a voluntary plan for industry to cut greenhouse gas output.

Looks like McCain and Hillary are both keeping in the news. Maybe something good will come of it.

on edit: also, it is kind of unfortunate that the Senate Environment chairman believes global warming is a hoax, and that Bush thinks he has any idea of how an economy works.

[jedr]

25. On a side note:

What's up with the McCain/Hillary, Newt/Hillary, Mccain/ Bidden, Clinton/ Bush I, connects??? are the Centrist making a move to take power???? I hope so.( Newt excluded)

[depakid]

27. McCain is not a "centrist"

and the Dems are courting disaster by going along with the far right- it only legitimizes the far right- and de-legitimizes the Dems criticim of their insane policies.

That, unfortunately, will become all to clear (yet again) in the 2006 elections if they continue on this path.

[jedr]

28. compared with who?

Even Bush I is a centrist compared to neocons...but I don't wish to fight, just wondering about the "strange bedfellows"

[depakid]

36. I'm talking about environmental matters in this case

which is the subject of the thread, but it pretty well applies in other areas, too.

back when DLC Dems were driveling on about the "possibility" that Kerry might choose McCain as a running mate, there were dozens of posts about his public statements and voting record.

Centrist it's not- compared with any reasonable deinition of the word.

[AlGore-08.com]

30. Because the Clintons and Biden poll even worse than the Bushes

And McCain kicks everybody's *ss in national polls.

That's why.

[Gabi Hayes]

31. It's too late, baby, now....it's too late

Greenland, Siberian permafrost, black ice, Antarctic Ice Sheets,
major ocean currents slowing/monsoons ending

just wait

[BeHereNow]

32. Agree- Monbiot did an article about it some time ago

In summary, the article stated that it was the
concensus of scientists who have been evaluating the situation
for years that even if everyone on the planet immediately stopped
doing the things that are contributing to the disaster in play,
the fact is, it would not reverse what is now inevitable.
Global disaster is pending and now unavoidable.
Too late.
Much, much, too late.
http://www.taironatrust.org

The Kogi Indians of Columbia, one of the
last remaining Pre-Columbian descendants
of the Tairona People, tried to warn us nearly fifteen years ago
in the documentary made by the BBC,
"FROM THE HEART OF THE WORLD: A Message
From the Elder Brother's"
We did not listen.

You can obtain a copy of the documentary, which
is riveting, by donating to the Tairona Trust Foundation.
A MUST SEE for every DUer and person sensing the impending
doom descending on the world.

BHN

[DoYouEverWonder]

33. Global warming: Will you listen now, America?

Two of the leading contenders to contest the next US presidential election have delivered an urgent warning to the United States on global warming, saying the evidence of climate change has become too stark to ignore and human activity is a major cause.

18 August 2005

On a high-profile and bi-partisan fact-finding tour in Alaska and Canada's Yukon territory, Senators John McCain, a Republican, and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic senator for New York, were confronted by melting permafrost and shrinking glaciers and heard from native Inuit that rising sea levels were altering their lives.

"The question is how much damage will be done before we start taking concrete action," Mr McCain said at a press conference in Anchorage. "Go up to places like we just came from. It's a little scary." Mrs Clinton added: "I don't think there's any doubt left for anybody who actually looks at the science. There are still some holdouts, but they're fighting a losing battle. The science is overwhelming."

Their findings directly challenge President George Bush's reluctance to legislate to reduce America's carbon emissions. Although both senators havetalked before of the need to tackle global warming, this week's clarion call was perhaps the clearest and most urgent. It also raises the prospect that climate change and other environmental issues could be a factor in the presidential contest in 2008 if Mrs Clinton and Mr McCain enter it. Mrs Clinton and Mr McCain, who represents Arizona, are among the leading, and the most popular, likely contenders.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article306881.ece

[Gregorian]

34. No. Not until the melting water reaches over the hubcaps.

Until then, it's shop til you drop.










(Sorry. I had to say that. There's actually a bit of truth to it, unfortunately.)

[artemisia1]

40. Nah, can't be true. I just read a Michael Crichton book that

said that Global Warming is bogus. (Sarcasm)

[beetbox]

41. no to cheap gas

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

38. Great

Now they all need to go to the Whitehouse when Chimpy gets back from vacation and collectively slap the shit out of him.

[Rex]

42. Pigman says global warming never happened

that it's a myth made up by liberals. Rush is a one act pony.