Posted by
Average Voter on Monday, October 20, 2008 8:43:30 PM
The
Chicago Tribune put this up yesterday, talking about Governor Sarah Palin's pro-business attitude in while mayor in Wasilla, Alaska. And they make the arguement that because of this, the lakes and streams are now polluted.
Palin refined her pro-business attitudes after becoming governor in 2006. Faced with choosing between development and the environment, she has sided more often than not with business interests:
—She helped kill a ballot initiative that would have blocked a massive new gold and copper mine from being built near the world's most productive wild salmon fishery.
—She challenged the listing of the polar bear and Cook Inlet beluga whale as endangered species. The listings might have threatened the state's oil and gas industry.
—Her administration helped kill a bill banning water pollution near where fish spawn.
—She started a committee to address global warming. But with oil companies contributing the largest percentage of the state's greenhouse gases, her committee set no goal for reducing emissions. Unlike other states, Alaska's climate change priority is focused on ways to adapt to warmer temperatures.
Of course none of this is backed up by any proof, but I suppose the article is not lying. But remember, Palin alone didn't make all this happen. People voted, businesses came and were profitable because the citizens wanted what they sold. If the citizens were that worried about the environment, they would have acted accordingly.
But adapting to climate change seems to be a wise thing if you are to believe that you are doomed. But that is not important either. What is important is that she helped grow opportunity for the citizens of Wasilla.