Wasn't it Chris Mooney who said that global warming would be a big issue in the 2004 presidential campaign? That was dead wrong, needless to say. He's hawking the same bullshit for the 2008 campaign. But there's no evidence that it will be a campaign issue in the 2008 presidential campaign, either. At left is a Washington Post/ABC News poll taken about three weeks ago. Global warming or the environment appears nowhere on the list, not even in the bottom rungs. Let's face it, whether we like it or not, Americans just aren't that interested in the environment, and it's most likely not going to show up in the 2006 or 2008 campaigns. Personally speaking, I place health care above environmental issues, and probably I place the economy above it as well. For better or worse both effect me more directly and more immediately. Those are the facts.
Global warming and the environment may not be a big issue; oil, the geopolitics of energy, gas prices, our reliance on foreign oil and production infrastructure that could be menaced by hurricanes (aka the environment, possibly intensified by global warming); the economy, reliance of the economy on a festering fossil fuel energy production model, the dangers posed by Iran to oil production; more than a few times this summer and fall it will be mentioned that by using alternative energy sources (nuclear, biofuels, wind, etc.) we reduce our dependence on foreign oil imports, which strengthens the economy and national security (and is good for the environment)...
ReplyDeleteIt may be under the surface, but it's there -- everywhere.
First time posting on the "new" Quark Soup and I'm glad to be back.