Obstructing Action from Global Warming’s Ground Zero

Polar BearsAlaska has been called the poster state for global warming. Winter temperatures have already risen 6 degrees. Sea ice that protects coastal villages from winter storms forms a week later than it used to. Forests are under siege from wildfires and insects. Melting permafrost is shifting foundations of homes and drying up lakes. And the state’s symbol, the polar bear, is seeing its habitat literally vanish from under its feet.

Which is why it’s so unbelievable that Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) would be leading an effort to block limits on global warming pollution:

Murkowski, ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, may introduce an amendment to the fiscal 2010 Interior and environment appropriations bill that would allow EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions only from mobile sources, and prohibit the agency from regulating heat-trapping emissions from stationary sources like power plants and industrial facilities. […]

Environmentalists assailed the amendment, saying it would basically instruct EPA to ignore the law.

“This amendment suggests that if global warming pollution comes from a power plant, it is safe, but if it comes from a car, it is harmful,” said David Moulton, director of climate policy and conservation funding at the Wilderness Society. “That is a preposterous distinction that cannot be supported in either law or fact.”

If you’re an Alaska resident, please call Sen. Murkowski’s office at 202-224-6665 and ask why she’s trying to put up a roadblock to climate action. Let us know what you hear in comments below.