Full Version: Global Warming as a Campaign Issue
Newsweek is running a story asking about the "Green Phantom"-- Global Warming as a campaign issue.
Then he comes to the heart of the matter:
Question for Debate:
Why isn't global warming (or environmentalism in general) more of a campaign issue?
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
Should global warming be more of an issue?
QUOTE
I asked Emanuel, how are the environment and global warming playing out there in the heartland? Is it stirring voters? No, he replied. In the 2006 congressional elections global warming was virtually a nonissue, he said, a low-priority item way behind the war and the economy and old staples like education and health care. Global warming is an issue for the elites, he said, not for the average voter.
That's still true. The mainstream media continues to write urgently about global warming. Last month NEWSWEEK asked on its cover which candidate will be the most green. On Sunday the New York Times Magazine produced a special issue on how to reduce your carbon footprint-from changing your light bulbs to walking more to eating "slow food." Any reader of old-line mainstream media-the traditional news source of the upper middle class-would think that the country is rallying to a crisis.
That's still true. The mainstream media continues to write urgently about global warming. Last month NEWSWEEK asked on its cover which candidate will be the most green. On Sunday the New York Times Magazine produced a special issue on how to reduce your carbon footprint-from changing your light bulbs to walking more to eating "slow food." Any reader of old-line mainstream media-the traditional news source of the upper middle class-would think that the country is rallying to a crisis.
Then he comes to the heart of the matter:
QUOTE
It may be, though, that the politicians know something they are not saying-and that the green-conscious upper classes do not wish to confront. Making a serious dent in global warming would be hugely costly. Fueled by population growth and a growing prosperity in underdeveloped parts of the world, greenhouse emissions will more than double by 2050, according to most estimates. About three-quarters of the growth will come in developing countries like China and India that, for understandable reasons, are not about to forgo economic growth at a time when their average citizen still consumes about a fifth as much energy as the average American
Question for Debate:
Why isn't global warming (or environmentalism in general) more of a campaign issue?
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
Should global warming be more of an issue?
Why isn't global warming (or environmentalism in general) more of a campaign issue?
It seems people are no more worried about it today than 20 years ago. The economy is number 1 – pocketbooks.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard...me-19-years-ago
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
All candidates will impose “carbon taxes” – McCain included.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14765/candi...ate_change.html
http://www.heatison.org/candidates
Should global warming be more of an issue?
Not in my opinion. The jury is still out on the extent of climate change we can expect and the evidence of still hotly debated.
It seems people are no more worried about it today than 20 years ago. The economy is number 1 – pocketbooks.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard...me-19-years-ago
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
All candidates will impose “carbon taxes” – McCain included.
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14765/candi...ate_change.html
http://www.heatison.org/candidates
Should global warming be more of an issue?
Not in my opinion. The jury is still out on the extent of climate change we can expect and the evidence of still hotly debated.
Why isn't global warming (or environmentalism in general) more of a campaign issue?
I think that a lot of it has to do with the candidate's positions being fairly similar.
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
What Ted said.
Should global warming be more of an issue?
I would like for it to be brought up a little more, but I don't see it as a major issue. Energy policy and general pollution discussions would be more productive.
[/quote]
I think that a lot of it has to do with the candidate's positions being fairly similar.
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
What Ted said.
Should global warming be more of an issue?
I would like for it to be brought up a little more, but I don't see it as a major issue. Energy policy and general pollution discussions would be more productive.
[/quote]
Why isn't global warming (or environmentalism in general) more of a campaign issue?
Since McCain appears to embrace Bush's War in Iraq, even if only in clean-up mode, he knows he has to distance himself on anything else which can be associated with Bush, as already seen in his recent denouncement of the Bush administration response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It seems unlikely he will adopt Bush's adamant luddite position on GW and probably try to appear more moderate on environmental issues should they come up. Since the economy is in the midst of a massive skid, that is the current news priority anyway. Barring another huge natural disaster associated with GW, environmental issues are unlikely to become much of a point of rhetoric in the near future, since the biggest disaster most people see everyday in their lives is gas, food, and housing prices (for the 69% of the population that are homeowners, that is).
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
They don't seem that different, as I would expect, for the reasons stated above.
Should global warming be more of an issue?
Only if something can actually be done about it. Some scientists already think it is too late to reverse the changes for hundreds of generations to come. Once the trigger is pulled, it is difficult to stop the bullets of change.
Since McCain appears to embrace Bush's War in Iraq, even if only in clean-up mode, he knows he has to distance himself on anything else which can be associated with Bush, as already seen in his recent denouncement of the Bush administration response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It seems unlikely he will adopt Bush's adamant luddite position on GW and probably try to appear more moderate on environmental issues should they come up. Since the economy is in the midst of a massive skid, that is the current news priority anyway. Barring another huge natural disaster associated with GW, environmental issues are unlikely to become much of a point of rhetoric in the near future, since the biggest disaster most people see everyday in their lives is gas, food, and housing prices (for the 69% of the population that are homeowners, that is).
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
They don't seem that different, as I would expect, for the reasons stated above.
Should global warming be more of an issue?
Only if something can actually be done about it. Some scientists already think it is too late to reverse the changes for hundreds of generations to come. Once the trigger is pulled, it is difficult to stop the bullets of change.
QUOTE(metropolitical @ Apr 30 2008, 12:08 PM) 
Why isn't global warming (or environmentalism in general) more of a campaign issue?
(McCain)knows he has to distance himself on anything else which can be associated with Bush, as already seen in his recent denouncement of the Bush administration response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
(McCain)knows he has to distance himself on anything else which can be associated with Bush, as already seen in his recent denouncement of the Bush administration response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
You're giving McCain a lot of credit for foresight here. I think it's more likely that McCain's stance on climate change is based on his own beliefs instead of trying to be different than GW. He did co-sponsor the Leiberman-McCain Climate Stewartship Act in 2003.
Why isn't global warming (or environmentalism in general) more of a campaign issue?
It's not a "here and now issue." What I mean by that is, most people are concerned about issues that effect them or the country right now, we really don't look into the future all that much. We make policies and opinions based on what's happening right now, and not the outcomes of those decisions. With that being said, I think a lot of people realize that global warming is a bunch of malarkey and aren't so worried about it.
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
To the left. They all want carbon taxes, they all want to spend oodles of money to "fix it" and they all think it's man's fault.
Should global warming be more of an issue?
Yes, in the sense that the debate is centered around talking about the consequences to all actions and looking at the facts. I think it should be an issue not in the sense of what should we do but rather will what we do have any effect. And, more important, is it even happening and who really is to blame. Those questions haven't been answered by science yet.
--jb
It's not a "here and now issue." What I mean by that is, most people are concerned about issues that effect them or the country right now, we really don't look into the future all that much. We make policies and opinions based on what's happening right now, and not the outcomes of those decisions. With that being said, I think a lot of people realize that global warming is a bunch of malarkey and aren't so worried about it.
Where do the candidates stand on global warming?
To the left. They all want carbon taxes, they all want to spend oodles of money to "fix it" and they all think it's man's fault.
Should global warming be more of an issue?
Yes, in the sense that the debate is centered around talking about the consequences to all actions and looking at the facts. I think it should be an issue not in the sense of what should we do but rather will what we do have any effect. And, more important, is it even happening and who really is to blame. Those questions haven't been answered by science yet.
--jb
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