Bush's treatment of global warming in the State of the Union address was pretty uninspiring, unless you like vagaries. I have a Seed piece going up about this today so I won't say more, except to point out the actual language so you can see for yourself:
America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. And these technologies will help us be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change.
Well, at least the preceding stuff about fuel economy standards was pretty good. And now Bush has finally mentioned "climate change" in a SOTU speech. Updating my previous calculations, we can now say that across his six SOTU addresses, Bush has mentioned "God" 14 times, and "global warming" or "climate change" once.
To me that speaks for itself.
- Log in to post comments
How about his mentioning Iran 5 times in this speech alone?
Bush has mentioned energy independence every year he's had one of these things. Has he delivered anything? No.
Bush said that global climate change is a serious challenge. That's certainly a step up from not admitting anything's happening. Perhaps he can be certified by the American Meteorological Society now.
Chris, don't be bamboozled by the stuff on fuel economy. It's a song and dance. See here:
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/1/23/162353/931
If there's one thing we all should have learned in the last six years, it's that no matter how cynically you are approaching Bush's words, you aren't being cynical enough.
Say what you will about Bush, but he is consistent. He and his administration have always been hostile to environmental regulations going back when he was governor of Texas.
His anti-environmental policies have not changed and will not. The only thing that has changed is the spin.
Wondering how Bush can get away with continuing to side-step and downplay the climate issue? It's because his base among *college-educated* Republicans continues to refute the science and urgency of global warming. See this post on the details and why college-educated Republicans remain more skeptical than their high-school counterparts.
http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/2007/01/in_latest_survey_only_2…
i laughed when both he and cheney simultaneously reached for their glasses of water after Bush uttered "global climate change," then gulped down copious amounts of water as if it were vodka chasing a bitter pill.
the idea of expanding nuclear power might actually be a good one in terms of carbon though, at least until we get that fusion stuff going.