California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger argued a strong case for the effectiveness of local action over international action when it comes to dealing with climate change. He strongly believes that the real action in the fight against global warming is happening at what he called the subnational level. He points out that even without international agreements a lot is already happening at the grass roots level.
His argument finds support from an unexpected source. In a newsletter issued in July 2008, then governor of Alaska Sarah Palin urged her fellow Alaskans to take global warming seriously. She goes on to say this: "The strategy is to serve as a guide for a thoughtful, practical, timely, state of Alaska response to climate change. It is to identify priorities needing immediate attention along with longer-term steps we can take as a state to best serve all Alaskans and to do our part in the global response to this global phenomenon."
Thanks to the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson for
unearthing this newsletter. He points out that Governor Palin's views on global
warming have shifted to match her newfound status as conservative icon. Now she
is a global warming skeptic. I liked her better when she was just Sarah plain
and simple.
This essay first appeared in PlanetRestart.org
