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Gene Karpinski

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A Sharp Contrast on Climate

Posted: 09/12/2012 5:07 pm

Now that the fanfare of both party conventions has come to a close, the choice voters face in November is more clear than ever, especially when it comes to confronting the climate crisis.

During his speech at the Republican National Convention, one of Mitt Romney's biggest applause lines came when he mocked then-Senator Obama's 2008 call to address climate change: "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans -- [pauses for audience laughter] -- and to heal the planet. My promise... is to help you and your family."

Romney's opposition to policies that curb harmful global warming pollution is well documented, but this line -- given as he was accepting his party's nomination for president -- takes his climate callousness to a whole new level. Worse, Romney's punchline reveals that he does not understand that protecting the planet will help our families, now and in the future. Just ask those families in Colorado affected by wildfires. Or the families throughout the Midwest suffering from record droughts. Or the families in Florida threatened by rising sea levels. These families cannot afford to have a president who ignores the impacts of a changing climate.

During his own convention speech, President Obama delivered a direct rebuttal to Romney's climate joke and the climate deniers backing his campaign:

My plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet -- because climate change is not a hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They're a threat to our children's future. And in this election, you can do something about it.

And the president's words were backed up by his recent actions. In the days leading up to the convention, President Obama announced the single biggest step the United States government has ever taken to reduce global warming pollution: finalizing historic new national fuel efficiency standards that will make our cars go further on a gallon of gas, which will dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.

Unfortunately, Romney was not content to leave his climate ignorance at the convention -- doubling down during last weekend's interview on NBC's Meet the Press: "I'm not in this race to slow the rise of the oceans or to heal the planet."

The past two weeks have made clear that we face a stark choice this November -- and when it comes to confronting the climate crisis, that choice is obvious. To Mitt Romney, climate change is nothing more than a punchline. For President Obama, it is one of the great challenges of the 21st century.

For those of us who care about addressing climate change, it's easy to be frustrated by a system that makes big change slow and difficult. But the change necessary to usher in a new clean energy economy and reduce global warming pollution will never happen in a Romney administration influenced by Big Oil. With 53 days until Election Day, now is the time to stand up for President Obama and the clean energy future he is fighting for.

 
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Now that the fanfare of both party conventions has come to a close, the choice voters face in November is more clear than ever, especially when it comes to confronting the climate crisis. During his ...
Now that the fanfare of both party conventions has come to a close, the choice voters face in November is more clear than ever, especially when it comes to confronting the climate crisis. During his ...
 
 
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09:51 PM on 09/13/2012
How can Mitt lead us to a better economic future if he and the Republicans deny the basic truths of science? Check out this blog.

http://ifromneywins.blogspot.com/2012/09/chapter-3-how-can-republican-party-lead.html
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ILoveFiction
That's unbelievable!
09:42 PM on 09/13/2012
My doctor told me I had to stop smoking immediately.

3 months later I have cut back 2 percent.

Like that?
05:56 PM on 09/13/2012
It has been proven time and time again that the carbondioxide rises with the temp, not the other way around. Algae produces more cd than humans ever can. Carbonmonoxide is a heavy gas, will never reach the ozone layer. It oxidizes into carbondioxide within minutes and then is consumed by plants. That must be why trees is the city thrive. The earth knows what its doing. Obama doesnt. His plan is to spend 5 billion a year spraying our skys with sulfer solutions that will block 20% of the sun rays. The sky will no longer be blue, it will be a hazy white. And then here comes the acid rain and more problems galore. We need sun viruses and bacteria will grow out of control with the lack of sun. How will crops grow if the sun is depleted? They dont know the devistating effects this will have on our land and people, not to mention all the wild animals and fish. Europe has said no to these chem trails, I think we should follow. All airliners will be attached with these harmful chemicals. Sunsets wont be the same, everyone will become depressed due to lack of vital rays we get our vita D from. Horrid idea. Montsano wants to bring agent orange back, to America, because everything is becoming resistant to their pesticides. Things seemed to work better when we were about small local farms and local family owned businesses. We are turning into corprate U.S.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ClimateHawk
Think before posting.
09:04 PM on 09/14/2012
Not even close.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Put more of it in the atmosphere, and more heat is trapped.
12:25 AM on 09/15/2012
Earth’s climate has varied widely over its history, from ice ages characterised by large ice sheets covering many land areas, to warm periods with no ice at the poles. Several factors have affected past climate change, including solar variability, volcanic activity and changes in the composition of the atmosphere. Data from Antarctic ice cores reveals an interesting story for the past 400,000 years. During this period, CO2 and temperatures are closely correlated, which means they rise and fall together. However, based on Antarctic ice core data, changes in CO2 follow changes in temperatures by about 600 to 1000 years. This has led some to conclude that CO2 simply cannot be responsible for current global warming. Temp goes up, ice melts, Co2 is emitted from ocean. Temp goes up. Co2 lags temp. Global warming is not cause by humans.

Here is a video to help you understand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nrvrkVBt24&feature=player_embedded#!
08:58 AM on 09/13/2012
We still have 24 days?

Seasons still happen?

China pouring 95% of the worlds concrete over the last 10 hasnt disturpt the spin of the earth like it would effect a tire?

The moon still pulling further away every year?

Man can still grow stuff even though the rain forest are dwindling.....and thats okay we havent found the cancer there nor the cure for common cold....try checking the locals diets of the lowest of cancer rates. simple

Volcanoes are more active now in the pacific rim heating a once cold ocean from the artic....its nature and man cannot control it . The ash from one above ground volcanoe does more damage than all of mankinds pollution put together.....and when it rains wheres it go...oh to the ground...
The biggest ozone killer on earth are volcanoes and guess what...ozone heals itself why its a living planet

Why are there tropical rain forest under miles of ice....?

We once had 2 moons and 4 hour days.......we cant stop it.

It is written there is no future for man cause it is written we wont be here forever,

I just checked outside...the sky didnt fall last night

Man is the alien within...notice no flying saucers since cell phone cameras are standard operating procedures....
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janmB
loves life
07:15 AM on 09/13/2012
Throughout history there have been nay-sayers about any subject imaginable. The nay-sayers for climate-changes/global warmings are the republicans whose corporations don't want to spend money to change their polluting ways. There are some humans who are self-serving bent on fraud and corruption going up against people who try to do good. America repeats the process often.
05:27 AM on 09/13/2012
Obama is all talk and Romney doesn't care, yep this world is coming to an end.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ashlieeeee
Free thinkers are dangerous!
05:19 AM on 09/13/2012
Mitt's going to help my family by stopping me from marrying the woman I love and preventing me from adopting. Then he's going to help me by putting more of my tax dollars in the military to kill people in Iran. I love that. He'll help me some more by getting rid of that nasty "Patient Bill of Rights" so I get to pay the health insurance companies the piles of money they deserve.

And to top it all off, he'll make sure the liquid in every stream, river and lake is flammable enough to fuel my car. That man is a true hero
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01:49 AM on 09/13/2012
Mitt is suffering from an unsettled micro-climate in his head.
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Jamie South Boston
11:23 PM on 09/12/2012
Gene President, League of Conservation Voter

I feel very bad for you, a sane voice. Climate change is real but you are in the wrong party to get this point across.

Keep trying sir but you sound like a RINO. Funny that RINO's use to be few and far between but I believe that the GOP's base are now the RINO's and you sir are the real GOP.
05:40 PM on 09/12/2012
Climate not funny? Mitt Romney thinks so.

Examples at www.NotFunnyMitt.com