Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 12/16/2009 9:23:21 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
ALBANY -- State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis swiped back at former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and other deniers of man-made climate change during remarks at this week's international climate conference in Copenhagen.
"Last week, Sarah Palin -- you all remember her -- put a new posting on her Facebook page challenging the severity of climate change and telling President Obama to boycott Copenhagen," Grannis told his audience Monday.
He pointed out that in the last 50 years, temperatures in Alaska have increased 6 degrees, and some coastal villages are at risk of falling into the ocean because of melting permafrost.
"Maybe instead of giving President Obama advice, (Palin) should be looking for a house further inland," Grannis said.
The commissioner is attending the Copenhagen conference to promote New York's role in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, in which 10 states are limiting power plant emissions of carbon dioxide through a cap-and-trade program like the one currently being considered on the national level by the U.S. Congress.
But Grannis began his remarks at the International Carbon Action Partnership by telling his audience about the political climate in America, where former Gov. Palin as well as many Republican lawmakers reject the science behind climate change and oppose efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
But "a new day has dawned in America," Grannis said in his address. "We now have a president who understands that this is an environmental crisis, not a political annoyance."
Climate change contrarians have recently been emboldened since more than 1,000 e-mails from scientists at an English climate change research center were stolen by unknown parties and posted on the Internet this month. A smattering of the e-mails, which cover a decade, show some of the English scientists expressing minor misgivings or scorn for contrarians; the material has led to claims that decades of research from around the world is unreliable, even though this conclusion has been rejected by the scientific community.
During his remarks, Grannis also touted the state's efforts to fight climate change through the RGGI cap-and-trade program launched in September 2008.
Under RGGI, total emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are set with a cap, with power plants required to acquire state-auctioned allowances to cover their emissions.
The allowances can be bought and sold like any other commodity by plant owners, investors and environmental groups. Starting in 2012, the amount of allowances will be reduced, which is meant to force plant owners to cut emissions by switching to less CO2-intensive fuels.
Grannis' trip to Copenhagen was not made at state expense, said DEC spokesman Yancey Roy. The cost was picked by a private foundation in conjunction with Georgetown University Law School, he said.
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Brian Nearing can be reached at 454-5094 or at bnearing@timesunion.com.
The full text of Grannis' remarks can be found at The Green Blog, at http://blog.timesunion.com/green/
You would be guessing wrong. Grannis is from the upper east side of Manhattan. He has a "FL" after his name, which stands for "flaming liberal." During his short tenure as Governor, Elliot Spitzer appointed Grannis as the head of the Department of Environmental Conservation, which is the state agency responsible for regulating hunting, fishing, and trapping in the State of New York. Spitzer appointed Grannis to the top spot at the DEC even though he didn't know the difference between a white tail deer and a yellow tail tuna and is rabidly anti-firearm and anti-2nd Amendment.
Meanwhile, NYS manufacturing is in the toilet....
New York Manufacturing Employment Drops 7.6 Percent
Go Greener
Taxpayers and jobs can’t flee this state fast enough.
As much as I oppose Government spending, shouldn't this have been at state expense?
If an anonymous "private foundation" is picking up the tab, he's working for them.
There is the crux of it all. Always follow the money. Gore knew this from the beginning and got a jump on the rest.
Not only are these AGW freaks wrong they are also incredibly ‘snippy’ about it. Gore has had influence way beyond his abilities. Al, meet the new Sheriff, last name is Palin.
When you are wrong and you know it you tend to get snippy.
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