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Jacob from the blog Force Change tells us that Sarah Palin supports mining in Bristol Bay, which could threaten salmon, bears, and caribou. He lists three other major anti-green policies from Sarah Palin and comes to the conclusion that her "overall position towards the environment is quite poor." Gristmill also has a lengthy post about Sarah Palin and her record on issues related to energy and the environment. For example they list Sarah Palin’s support to build a natural-gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope and her suggestion to eliminate Alaska's gas tax. Gristmill also lists several quotes from Sarah Palin and from people who have reacted to her nomination. Such as this one from Gene Karpinski, the President of the League of Conservation Voters: "Unfortunately, with her support for drilling in the Arctic Refuge and off our coasts, Governor Palin will simply continue the failed policies of the Bush-Cheney Administration and their Big Oil friends -- policies that could make us even more dependent on foreign oil. Governor Palin characterizes McCain’s flip-flop on drilling offshore as a positive step in his transformation from maverick to Big Oil's best friend. She has implored McCain to change his position against drilling in the Arctic -- something she will have plenty of opportunities to pursue as his running mate. In addition to supporting backward-looking energy policies, Governor Palin has also opposed a crucial clean water initiative, sued the federal government for listing polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and opposed other important wildlife protection measures." The post Sarah Palin's awful environmental record has been updated with the new information.

You might have heard from the climate change deniers that this year will be the coolest globally this century. And that is true. Newly released data from the UK Met Office shows that during the first half of 2008 the global temperatures was more than 0.1 Celcius cooler than any other year after 2000. The reason for this is La Nina, an ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that has a cooling effect on the earth. But this doesn't mean the deniers are correct about anything else. Scientists still expects that 2008 will be the 10th warmest year since 1850. And the UK Met Office says that the global temperatures will continue to rise again when La Nina eases away. "The big thing that's been happening this year is La Nina, which has lowered global temperatures somewhat," said John Kennedy, climate monitoring and research scientist at the Met Office's Hadley Centre. "La Nina has faded in the last couple of months and now we have neutral conditions in the Pacific," he told BBC News. Dr Kennedy also said that "2008 will still be significantly above the long-term average," and that "there's been a strong upward trend in the last few decades, and that's the thing to focus on." Even during the temporarily cooling effect from La Nina we see evidence that the rapid man-made warming continues. Images from National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellites show continued breakup of 2 of Greenland's largest glaciers. According to Canadian authorities the Northwest Passage is navigable. Recently scientists warned that the Arctic could become ice-free during the summers as early as 2013. And just yesterday a huge chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan broke away in Canada's northern Arctic.

The sign says "Welcome to colorful Colorado". Photo: Paraflyer. It seems that as for every day that passes more and more jobs in USA gets outsourced and shipped overseas to countries with cheaper labour. That's why it must be great news for the people of Colorado in USA that Vestas, the world's leading supplier of wind energy, has announced that they will "outsource" 1350 new green tech jobs to Colorado. Besides one factory already being built in Colorado at a total cost of $200 the Danish company Vestas will invest $120 million in a new blade factory and a nacelle assembly factory in Brighton. Thanks to these investments a total of 2450 people will be on Vestas payroll in Colorado. "On behalf of the people of Colorado, I am grateful that Vestas has chosen to once again invest in our state," says Bill Ritter, Governor of the State of Colorado. "This is a tremendous boon for all of Colorado, not just Brighton. By bringing more than 1,350 additional jobs here, Vestas is cementing its standing as one of Colorado’s pioneering partners in the New Energy Economy. I look forward to continuing the relationship for years to come. My administration has worked closely with Vestas to make the Brighton project a reality. This only adds momentum to our efforts to diversify our economy and grow these modern-energy industries of the future." The green tech jobs currently being created in Colorado mainly come from the state's "growing political and economic commitment to renewables", as the Washington Post reports: Colorado's growing political and economic commitment to renewables is causing fear in the oil and gas industry, which is fighting to keep its tax breaks and its influence over state rulemaking. "We're not feeling very cherished," said Collins, whose oil and gas association represents more than 30 companies. The group objects to an initiative on the ballot in November; it would eliminate the industry's 87.5 percent property tax exemption, estimated to cost the state treasury $230 million to $320 million a year. If the ballot rule passes, the tax money will be channeled to renewable fuels, wildlife conservation and education. The industry also objects to proposed rules that would require greater public health and environmental protection in areas where drilling takes place. An 87.5 percent property tax exemption? Yes, you read right. No wonder big oil likes status quo and does everything it can to halt any kind of transformation to a more sustainable energy market. Via Solve Climate

The photo shows Sarah Palin and John McCain during a political rally. Photo: Buddhakiwi. Last week the Republican presidential contender John McCain announced his choice for running mate and Vice President. John McCain selected a rather unknown 44 year-old women named Sarah Palin from Alaska. The pro-lifer Sarah Palin, a lifetime member of the NRA, was the former mayor of a town of 9,000 for nearly two years. She wants to teach creationism in schools and is "a firm believer in free market capitalism." She is also in the centre of the "TrooperGate" scandal currently being unfolded in Alaska. During an interview with Larry Kudlow from CNBC's "Kudlow & Co" Sarah Palin said that someone needed to explain for her "what is it exactly that the VP does every day?" According to Cindy McCain, "Palin has national security experience because Alaska is close to Russia." Already now it's perfectly clear that Sarah Palin is inappropriate and incompetent for the Vice President position and being one heartbeat away from the presidency for one of the most powerful superpowers in the world. You could ask yourself why John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate, and if he really was sane at that moment. Faye Palin, Palin's mother-in-law, also wonders that very same question as she said to a New York Daily News reporter that "I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative." But it seems not even John McCain liked the idea of Sarah Palin as the Vice President of USA. We have earlier reported about Joe Biden, the Democrats nominee for Vice President, and his impressive green environmental record. So the question is. How green is really Sarah Palin? Sarah Palin hates polar bears as she doesn't want to add them to her nation's list of endangered species, saying "listing the polar bear as threatened is the wrong way to get to the right answer." She has also filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse that very decision. Sarah Palin wants to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. She also wants more offshore drilling. Sarah Palin has supported and led Alaska's efforts to shoot down wolves from airplanes and helicopters. Sarah Palin denies that global warming is man-made, saying "I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made." Sarah Palin is married to Todd Palin, an oil field production operator from BP. And that is something that surely will become an interest conflict between her and big oil. Sarah Palin has said that she "want to make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we're trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S." And during a phone interview with the Anchorage Daily News Palin said that "I am happy to and very honored to be asked to do this. I know it's going to be great for Alaska." Jacob from the blog Force Change tells us that Sarah Palin supports mining in Bristol Bay, which could threaten salmon, bears, and caribou. He lists three other major anti-green policies from Sarah Palin and comes to the conclusion that her "overall position towards the environment is quite poor." Gristmill also has a lengthy post about Sarah Palin and her record on issues related to energy and the environment. For example they list Sarah Palin’s support to build a natural-gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope and her suggestion to eliminate Alaska's gas tax. Gristmill also lists several quotes from Sarah Palin and from people who have reacted to her nomination. Such as this one from Gene Karpinski, the President of the League of Conservation Voters: "Unfortunately, with her support for drilling in the Arctic Refuge and off our coasts, Governor Palin will simply continue the failed policies of the Bush-Cheney Administration and their Big Oil friends -- policies that could make us even more dependent on foreign oil. Governor Palin characterizes McCain’s flip-flop on drilling offshore as a positive step in his transformation from maverick to Big Oil's best friend. She has implored McCain to change his position against drilling in the Arctic -- something she will have plenty of opportunities to pursue as his running mate. In addition to supporting backward-looking energy policies, Governor Palin has also opposed a crucial clean water initiative, sued the federal government for listing polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and opposed other important wildlife protection measures." Sarah Palin is, like I said earlier, still very unknown and we don't yet know all her standpoints when it comes to the environment. As the election progress continues we will probably find out more. But one thing is for sure. Her environmental record is not even half as good as Joe Biden's. So if you want to vote "green" and end George Bush's last eight years of failed economic and environmental policies John McCain, Sarah Palin nor the Republican Party should be an option for you. Updates: - Sarah Palin Wins 2008 Rubber Dodo Award - Sarah Palin can’t name a single man-made cause to climate change