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Drill and Burn

More wisdom from Paul Krugman today:

Back when he was cultivating a maverick image, Mr. McCain portrayed himself as more environmentally aware than the rest of his party. He even co-sponsored a bill calling for a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gas emissions (although his remarks on several recent occasions suggest that he doesn’t understand his own proposal). But the lure of a bit of political gain, it turns out, was all it took to transform him back into a standard drill-and-burn Republican.

And the planet can’t afford that kind of cynicism.

He aptly worries that if Americans let themselves be manipulated by easy claims of lower energy prices, we won't ever have the political will to do what is necessary to save the planet.

As long as one of our two political parties is bought and paid for by the pollution industries, you can be sure that cynicism will never be in short supply.

I think that environmental awareness is increasing, but I am not optimistic that we've reached a tipping point as a culture. We desperately need real leadership on this issue. It is an opportunity for scientists and science organizations to take the lead in the effort to educate the people.

But we also need the Democrats to call bullshit on the Republicans when they make their false promises of easy energy.

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