At the WPost, Juliet Eilperin pens a lengthy feature on the differences between Palin and McCain over the causes of global warming. Palin believes that the effects of climate change are impacting Alaska and has advocated for action, but continues to hedge on whether or not humans are a cause. McCain, on the other hand, believes that "the science of man made global warming has really been proven."
Palin's rejection of scientific consensus may simply be politically strategic, playing to a conservative base, or she may be victim to the counter-framing of climate skeptics. Either way, Palin's opinion of climate change is in line with her party faithful. Polls show that less than 25% of college-educated Republicans accept that human activities are contributing to climate change.
On the other hand, as a devout Pentecostal who believes in creationism, Palin's rejection of scientific consensus may also derive from her religious faith. Palin, for example, is already on record saying that she believes Iraq is "a task that is from God." It stands to reason that religion also likely colors her views on climate change.
So for journalists, the relevant question for Palin is the source of her beliefs about climate change. Why is it that she rejects overwhelming scientific consensus? And specifically, what role does her faith play in perceiving the causes of climate change? For Palin, does God trump science when it comes to understanding the causes of complex problems?
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Most likely, Palin rejects anthropogenic global warming for the same reason that any rational person rejects it: because it is a fraud. The supporting data is all made up by liars with a political agenda. In fact, once you factor out El Nino and La Nina, all that is left is the roughly 1 degree per century increase that has been with us since the Maunder Minimum (the Little Ice Age) in the second half of the 1600's.
Think about it: you breath out carbon dioxide, so a carbon tax is a tax on breathing. Start thinking for yourselves, check the actual scientific data, and lose those slimeballs who want to put a tax on breathing!
scientifically census should be done and realistic solution has to be implemented .measures to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas variation should be implemented as they are the main cause of climate change.
Good luck getting a reporter into the same room with Palin. She's basically being hidden from reporters precisely so that she doesn't have to answer this kind of question. Which basically gives you your answer. The people who already reject the scientific consensus on theological grounds also already think/know Palin is on their side, so she doesn't have to say anything to convince them. Independents who actually do respect scientific thought, on the other hand, would be scared away if she overtly said what she believed. So the McCain camp is going to keep her from unscripted events as long as possible.
I do wonder why, after all the effort McCain has gone to to make himself more appealing to those who want action to be taken to prevent and mitigate the effects of global warming, that he then appoints the worst possible person to support this position.
I'd like to see if Palin has any arguments to back up her denial of anthropogenic climate change or evolution, that don't require invoking God. In a supposedly Christian nation, playing the "G card" removes any rational debate and gives her Authority. That may answer the question posed in the paragraph above, actually...