What a joke. I bet T and Dude are part of this;
Hunters, anglers join global-warming outcry
Diana Marrero
Washington Bureau
Feb. 21, 2008 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Anglers say trout and salmon are moving upstream looking for colder water. Duck hunters say the prairie potholes where ducklings hatch are drying up. And game hunters say moose populations are migrating north.
Many of these outdoor enthusiasts blame it on global warming. Now, they are lobbying Congress to protect their favorite pastimes.
Nearly 700 hunting, fishing and sporting groups, including several from Arizona, recently sent letters urging lawmakers to support a bill to curb the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change.
These are not your typical environmentalists, but they are increasingly interested in environmental issues.
"The hunting and angling community is becoming more aware of global climate change and the problems associated with that, especially how it affects fish and wildlife," said Rod Mondt, who lives in Tucson and works as a conservation-lands coordinator for Trout Unlimited. "They see it more readily because they're out in the field more."
By taking on global warming, outdoor enthusiasts join a diverse group of activists, from evangelical Christians to farmers, clamoring for legislative action on climate change.
The debate could heat up this summer because lawmakers are expected to consider legislation that would cut carbon-dioxide emissions by two-thirds nationwide by 2050.
"America simply has to step up and take a leadership role," Sen. John Warner, R-Va., told a gathering of hunters and anglers last week.
Warner, who is sponsoring the bill, said he hopes the new coalition can help sway his Republican colleagues.
"There is no legislator worth their salt who wouldn't listen to local hunters and fishermen," he said.
Concerns in Arizona
In Arizona, hunters are concerned about the effects of drought on the state's mule-deer and elk populations. Conditions near the Grand Canyon have gotten so bad that some wildlife there must rely on man-made water-catching devices as the sole water source.
Anglers warn that warmer temperatures could lead to a decline in already threatened species such as Apache trout in the northern part of the state.
Jason Williams, 31, a firefighter from Prescott, worries about the drought that is killing the ponderosa pines and could affect the state's big-game herds. He says he already has noticed effects of global warming in his native Illinois, where he would go ice-fishing while growing up.
"Nowadays, you're lucky if the lakes freeze in the winter," he said.
Williams, who used to work for the Arizona Wilderness Coalition, hunts for elk, duck and quail and likes to fish for trout. An independent, he says hunters and anglers have a better chance than many environmentalists of swaying Republican lawmakers.
"It makes a big difference if Republicans are hearing from what they consider to be their base," he said.
Working together
By mobilizing outdoor enthusiasts, bill supporters hope to tone down the partisan rhetoric that often accompanies discussion of global warming on Capitol Hill.
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., former chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has called global warming a "hoax." And Warner was the only Republican to support the bill in that committee.
With a 51-49 Democratic majority, supporters must work with the GOP to get to the 60-vote threshold needed to pass controversial legislation.
The GOP has a long tradition of environmentalism. President Theodore Roosevelt championed the creation of national monuments, parks and preserves that served as the foundation for the current park system. President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency. And the GOP was instrumental in passing a number of environmental bills: the Wilderness Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Change under Reagan
Environmental issues began to take a partisan tone under former President Reagan, said Jim Moore, a professor at Pacific University in Oregon. But that's beginning to change with the involvement of hunters, ranchers and other conservative-leaning groups, he said.
David Crockett, an avid sportsman and descendant of legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett, called on GOP lawmakers to be Republicans in the Roosevelt tradition by supporting the global-warming bill.
"It gives us the chance to keep what is most precious to us," he said.
It's Bush's fault!!!
Hunters, anglers join global-warming outcry
Diana Marrero
Washington Bureau
Feb. 21, 2008 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Anglers say trout and salmon are moving upstream looking for colder water. Duck hunters say the prairie potholes where ducklings hatch are drying up. And game hunters say moose populations are migrating north.
Many of these outdoor enthusiasts blame it on global warming. Now, they are lobbying Congress to protect their favorite pastimes.
Nearly 700 hunting, fishing and sporting groups, including several from Arizona, recently sent letters urging lawmakers to support a bill to curb the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change.
These are not your typical environmentalists, but they are increasingly interested in environmental issues.
"The hunting and angling community is becoming more aware of global climate change and the problems associated with that, especially how it affects fish and wildlife," said Rod Mondt, who lives in Tucson and works as a conservation-lands coordinator for Trout Unlimited. "They see it more readily because they're out in the field more."
By taking on global warming, outdoor enthusiasts join a diverse group of activists, from evangelical Christians to farmers, clamoring for legislative action on climate change.
The debate could heat up this summer because lawmakers are expected to consider legislation that would cut carbon-dioxide emissions by two-thirds nationwide by 2050.
"America simply has to step up and take a leadership role," Sen. John Warner, R-Va., told a gathering of hunters and anglers last week.
Warner, who is sponsoring the bill, said he hopes the new coalition can help sway his Republican colleagues.
"There is no legislator worth their salt who wouldn't listen to local hunters and fishermen," he said.
Concerns in Arizona
In Arizona, hunters are concerned about the effects of drought on the state's mule-deer and elk populations. Conditions near the Grand Canyon have gotten so bad that some wildlife there must rely on man-made water-catching devices as the sole water source.
Anglers warn that warmer temperatures could lead to a decline in already threatened species such as Apache trout in the northern part of the state.
Jason Williams, 31, a firefighter from Prescott, worries about the drought that is killing the ponderosa pines and could affect the state's big-game herds. He says he already has noticed effects of global warming in his native Illinois, where he would go ice-fishing while growing up.
"Nowadays, you're lucky if the lakes freeze in the winter," he said.
Williams, who used to work for the Arizona Wilderness Coalition, hunts for elk, duck and quail and likes to fish for trout. An independent, he says hunters and anglers have a better chance than many environmentalists of swaying Republican lawmakers.
"It makes a big difference if Republicans are hearing from what they consider to be their base," he said.
Working together
By mobilizing outdoor enthusiasts, bill supporters hope to tone down the partisan rhetoric that often accompanies discussion of global warming on Capitol Hill.
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., former chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has called global warming a "hoax." And Warner was the only Republican to support the bill in that committee.
With a 51-49 Democratic majority, supporters must work with the GOP to get to the 60-vote threshold needed to pass controversial legislation.
The GOP has a long tradition of environmentalism. President Theodore Roosevelt championed the creation of national monuments, parks and preserves that served as the foundation for the current park system. President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency. And the GOP was instrumental in passing a number of environmental bills: the Wilderness Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Change under Reagan
Environmental issues began to take a partisan tone under former President Reagan, said Jim Moore, a professor at Pacific University in Oregon. But that's beginning to change with the involvement of hunters, ranchers and other conservative-leaning groups, he said.
David Crockett, an avid sportsman and descendant of legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett, called on GOP lawmakers to be Republicans in the Roosevelt tradition by supporting the global-warming bill.
"It gives us the chance to keep what is most precious to us," he said.
It's Bush's fault!!!
