Hill Heat

In a news release, the National Wildlife Federation’s climatologist Amanda Staudt warns that “this hurricane season is a stark reminder of what science tells us to expect from a new era of stronger hurricanes fueled by global warming: higher wind speeds, more precipitation, and bigger storm surge in the coming decades.”

Scientific findings she notes:

• “The big picture is that global warming is allowing hurricanes to pack a bigger punch. Over this century, windspeeds could increase 13 percent and rainfall could increase 31 percent.”
• “Even storms that do not reach category 3 and above will hit harder because they will likely bring more rain than a similar storm would have just a few decades ago. It is a law of physics that warmer air is able to carry more water.”
• “Both Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav brought costly flooding, with rainfall totals exceeding 10 inches in some locations. As the remnants of Gustav continue to bring heavy rains, much of the lower Mississippi valley remains under flood watch.”

“We must restore the coastal wetlands, lowlands, and barrier islands that provide the first line of defense against hurricanes,” advises Dr. Staudt. “For example, about half of the wetlands around New Orleans have been lost in recent years. Because scientists estimate that every mile of healthy wetlands can trim about 3-9 inches off a storm surge – and an acre of wetlands is estimated to reduce hurricane damage by $3,300 – we must restore these wetlands.”

For more, read the full NWF report on the influence of global warming on the destruction caused by tropical storms.

From the Wonk Room.

President Bush exploited this morning’s press briefing on the “follow-up efforts” to Hurricane Gustav to attack Congress about lifting the offshore drilling moratorium. Stating that “what happens after the storm passes is as important as what happens prior to the storm arriving,” he made the declaration that “our discussion here today is about energy.” Bush wasn’t referring to the 1.4 million Louisianans who have lost power due to the storm’s destructive force, and chose not to mention the 102 deaths caused by Gustav. Instead, he went on the attack:

I know that Congress has been on recess for a while, but this issue hasn’t gone away. And, uh, this storm should not cause members of Congress say well, we don’t need to address our energy independence. It ought to cause the Congress to step up their need to address our dependence on foreign oil. And one place to do so is to give us a chance to explore in environmentally friendly ways on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Watch it:

MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough were both floored by Bush’s decision “to use another hurricane in Louisiana to promote offshore drilling at this point,” after he “performed so poorly during Hurricane Katrina.”

Bush’s tasteless politicization of an ongoing civil emergency repeated tired right-wing talking points. As Van Jones told the Wonk Room last week, Bush is selling false solutions and more pollution:

Let’s be very clear. Number one: There’s no such thing as American oil any more. These are multinational corporations. If you let multinational corporations drill all this oil, they’re going to sell it to the highest bidder, whether it’s China, or India, it doesn’t matter. Why would we throw away America’s beauty chasing the lost drops of oil, so multinational corporations can sell it to India and China?

And people also got to remember, we didn’t stop this as an environmental issue. We didn’t stop offshore drilling for the duckies and the fishies. We stopped it because coastline communities were suffering. Because the property owners, the children who live in those coastline communities – not when there were oil spills – but every day, when your child goes out to swim, he comes back covered in oil, you have to use gasoline to get the oil off your child. That was happening coast to coast

Transcript:

Sen. McCain’s (R-Ariz.) running mate pick, Gov. Sarah Palin, is a proud evangelical conservative who questions anthropogenic climate change and evolution.

In January of this year, she questioned climate models that show the threat of extinction of polar bears due to the loss of sea ice:

In fact, there is insufficient evidence that polar bears are in danger of becoming extinct within the foreseeable future — the trigger for protection under the Endangered Species Act. . . The possible listing of a healthy species like the polar bear would be based on uncertain modeling of possible effects. This is simply not justified.

Following the decision to list polar bears as a threatened species in May, Palin chose to file suit to overturn the listing. She argued:

We believe that the Service’s decision to list the polar bear was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available.

In a Newsmax interview released today, Palin questioned the science of manmade global warming:

A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.

This position is in opposition to the global scientific community, the leaders of every nation on the planet, and her running mate.

Similarly, Palin is an advocate of teaching creationism in opposition to natural selection:

Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both.

In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, she said “I won’t have religion as a litmus test, or anybody’s personal opinion on evolution or creationism.”

From the Wonk Room.

At the Big Tent in Denver, Center for American Progress President and CEO John Podesta, Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope, and oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens engaged in a discussion about our energy future. Pickens, who believes that our global oil production is at its peak and will soon inexorably decline, discussed his “Pickens Plan” for a massive increase in wind and solar electricity production and a shift for trucking fleets from diesel to natural gas. Podesta noted that the climate crisis is evident today, in the flooding in Florida and the increasing threat of powerful hurricanes. “The cost of doing nothing,” Podesta said, “is extremely substantial.”

This panel of three highly powerful individuals from the environmental, progressive, and conservative energy industry communities represented a remarkable confluence of priorities, in recognizing the energy crisis and the need to get off oil. As Carl Pope described:

If our politics was even vaguely functional, anything that all three of us agree on would have happened long ago. We have some very deep profound political problems. Our politics are broken.

Pickens himself, a highly influential fundraiser for right-wing politicians, described how his money has gotten him access in Washington but that he had learned that his contributions don’t translate to policy. He expressed his enthusiasm for the ability of the Pickens Plan campaign to reach millions on the Internet and mobilize hundreds of thousands of people. He argued, “I’m not doing this to make money. My entire estate will go to charity when I go. We are now importing almost 70 percent of our oil. It’s too much. We’re not talking about my generation—we can make it to the finish line.”

Pope explained what Newt Gingrich and other conservatives are really trying to do with their drill-drill-drill agenda, when they know that lifting the offshore drilling moratorium won’t deliver new oil to this country.

What is it about? It’s about distracting us from the conversation we ought to be having. As long as we’re talking about drill drill drill, it distracts Americans from the fact there’s a chasm between the two candidates. It’s a huge headfake by Karl Rove.

At the end of the conversation, Podesta and Pickens talked about their political differences. Pickens – who helped sponsor the Big Tent – admitted he is inclined to defend oil companies, who work for their shareholders and are run by his friends. When challenged by Podesta for having given significant contributions to “the gang on Capitol Hill who have been blocking the renewable production tax credit,” Pickens, with resignation apparent in his face, said, “I grind on them . . . I don’t have the time.” He argued that he is now trying to act on behalf of the American people, to avoid being partisan, to move past the old politics—the politics that he has spent millions to sustain.

With energy and environmentalism weighting heavily on the minds of all Americans, The New Republic will be hosting a two-part discussion series at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. This series will allow convention attendees a rare opportunity to engage with policy leaders and key innovators at the forefront of the energy and environmental debate. The series is open to all convention attendees and within walking distance to the Denver Convention Center and surrounding hotels.

• Carl Pope, Executive Director, The Sierra Club
• Representative George Miller (D-CA)
• Representative Ed Markey (D-MA)
• Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
• Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE)
• Matt Bennett, Vice President for Public Affairs, Third Way
• Brian F. Keane, President, SmartPower
• Ted Nordhaus, Chairman, The Breakthrough Institute; Co-author, Break Through
• Cass R. Sunstein, Harvard University Law Professor and Author, Risk and Reason: Safety, Law, and the Environment
• Franklin Foer, Editor of The New Republic, moderator

Tattered Cover Book Store, 16th & Wynkoop, Denver

With energy and environmentalism weighting heavily on the minds of all Americans, The New Republic will be hosting a two-part discussion series at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. This series will allow convention attendees a rare opportunity to engage with policy leaders and key innovators at the forefront of the energy and environmental debate. The series is open to all convention attendees and within walking distance to the Denver Convention Center and surrounding hotels.

• Carl Pope, Executive Director, The Sierra Club
• Representative George Miller (D-CA)
• Representative Ed Markey (D-MA)
• Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
• Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE)
• Matt Bennett, Vice President for Public Affairs, Third Way
• Brian F. Keane, President, SmartPower
• Ted Nordhaus, Chairman, The Breakthrough Institute; Co-author, Break Through
• Cass R. Sunstein, Harvard University Law Professor and Author, Risk and Reason: Safety, Law, and the Environment
• Franklin Foer, Editor of The New Republic, moderator

Tattered Cover Book Store, 16th & Wynkoop, Denver

Facilitator: Vijay Vaitheeswaran

Introduction: The Government’s Role in the New Energy Economy

• Sen. Jeff Bingaman
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer
• Rep. Ed Markey
• Gavin Newsom
• Greg Nickels
• Federico Peña
• Gov. Bill Ritter Jr.
• Sen. Ken Salazar

Topic Expansion: Corporate and Community Initiatives in the New Energy Economy

• Dan Arvizu
• Mark Falcone
• Van Jones
• Carl Pope
• Jon Ratner
• Rhone Resch
• Heather Stephenson

Space Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver, CO

Sir Nicholas Stern delivers the Climate Change Roundtable keynote.

Space Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver, CO

Moderator: Ray Suarez

Introduction: Three Carbon Sources

• Robert A. Hefner III
• Dick Kelly
• Steven Leer
• Andrew Liveris
• Fred Palmer

Topic Expansion: Addressing the Economic Constraints

• William S. Becker
• Carol Browner
• Jerome Ringo
• Tim Wirth

Topic Expansion : Challenges and Opportunities

• D. James Baker
• Rep. Richard Gephardt
• Kevin Knobloch
• David Lester
• Sen. Claire McCaskill
• Michael Northrop
• Randy Udall

Space Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver, CO

Moderator: Rick Stengel

Introduction: Practical Examples of the Business Impact

• Dan Hendrix
• Mike Kaplan
• Dr. Jeff Kenna
• Rose McKinney James
• Dan Reicher

Topic Expansion: Resources for Business Leadership

• Frances Beinecke
• Leo Gerard
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar
• Ira Magaziner
• Navin Nayak
• John Podesta
• Dan Sperling

Space Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver, CO