4 Things Sarah Palin Believes About the Environment

As America begins the process of getting to know surprise McCain VP pick Sarah Palin, here are a few of her positions on the environment.

1. Palin believes that we should drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which McCain has previously opposed. He's wavered on the issue before, though, so his nomination of Palin may be the tipping point. She also supports offshore drilling.

2. Palin is a proponent of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope.

3. Palin has sued the Department of the Interior about putting the polar bear on the endangered species list.

4. Palin supports mining in Bristol Bay, which may disrupt salmon, bears, and caribou.

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A quote from the McCain campaign: "Governor Palin has challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources. She leads a state that matters to every one of us—Alaska has significant energy resources and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent."

What do you think of the pick?

More from Fresh Greens:
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Green Democratic Convention Not Going as Well as Planned
Recession Shopping Can Make Us Unintentionally Greener

More from U.S. News & World Report:
McCain Picks Sarah Palin as Running Mate
10 Things You Didn't Know about Sarah Palin
More Campaign 2008 Coverage

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate

Comments

[GaviaMan]

It should be added that she believes that humans do not cause global warming.

[lowake]

So she lives in the real world. Thank God. I wish palin was running for president and McCain Vice.

[mlaiuppa]

What's the opposite of green?

Oh. She's RED.

[texastrixie]

Obama better get his ducks in a row on energy. He makes excuses for his stand on drilling instead of simply sayiing:
I don't like drilling because it encourages us to keep on using oil as our primary fuel source and allows us to put off the hard work that will be needed to find a non-polluting substitute.
I don't like drilling but if allowing a small increase in drilling (under careful environmental review) will make the american public less anxious about the energy situation, then we should drill. Drill - not drill drill, and certainly not drill, drill, DRILL.
I prefer that we explore all possible energy sources including biomass, hydrogen, electric cars, natural gas, conversion of oil (oil gasification?), hybrid cars, nuclear energy, wind, solar, and crude oil. Everything should be explored and investigated, but only the most promising substitute energy sources in the beginning. As we have seen from the use of corn as a biofuel, there can be unforseen consequences of any new technology. Piling into every avenue of research at once will make it harder to figure out what is the most economical and environmentally-friendly alternatives.

[strandwolf]

If the USA relents and mines in ANWAR, what gravitas have we re mining in and cutting down the rain forest wildernesses in South America, Africa, and Asia? None. Zero. Kaput.
We need to stand on principle.

[texastrixie]

Maybe we should allow any state willing to possibly ruin their ecology to proceed with drilling. I hate ripping apart Alaska, but if the people who live there don't care about their state, and California doesn't want to drill off its shores because it could ruin their beaches, shouldn't Caliornia be spared? Why try to force one state to support the energy needs of the country if it might result in the destruction of a large segment of its economy. In TX we don't care if the water along our coastal beaches is murkey and dark. We haven't seen blue water at our beaches in generations! I hate losing the polar bear and the caribou, but if Alaska wants to drill oil everywhere and ship it overland in pipes that can break, etc., maybe we ought to just let them. North and South Carolina and California would be spared - at least for a while. Sometimes you just have to give in to stupidity.

[jvarga]

I am scared at the prospect someone who advocates teaching creationism is science classes being vice president.

I look at that environmental record and it scares me.

I hope people who were on the borderline are similarly scared and vote the right way now.