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Last night's debate between vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin showcased their differences on energy policy and climate change, and also reminded us of some intra-ticket differences on those key scientific issues.

Palin, the Republican governor of Alaska, reiterated that she does not believe that global warming was solely caused by humans, a softer stance than that of running mate John McCain as well as that of the International Panel on Climate Change, which determined that it is "very likely" man-made. As Palin told Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News earlier in the week, climate change is a problem, but people are not the only culprits.

"I'm not one to attribute every man — activity of man -- to the changes in the climate. There is something to be said also for man's activities, but also for the cyclical temperature changes on our planet," she said last night. "But there are real changes going on in our climate. And I don't want to argue about the causes. What I want to argue about is, how are we going to get there to positively affect the impacts?"

Democratic veep pick Biden, like running mate Barack Obama, agrees with most scientists that humans are the major cause of global warming. "I think it's clearly manmade," he said. "If you don't understand what the cause is, it's virtually impossible to come up with a solution."

Palin and McCain disagree on at least one other key environmental matter: whether to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil exploration. Palin is for it, McCain is against it; when asked how they'd handle their differences, Palin said she would try to persuade McCain to change course.
 
"What do you expect? A team of mavericks, of course we're not going to agree on 100 percent of everything," Palin said. "As we discuss ANWR there, at least we can agree to disagree on that one. I will keep pushing him on ANWR. I have so appreciated he has never asked me to check my opinions at the door and he wants a deliberative debate and healthy debate so we can make good policy."

Obama opposes ANWR oil searches, but backs limited offshore drilling as part of a broader plan that includes alternative energy sources. Biden did not discuss ANWR last night.

Like their running mates, both veep candidates endorsed caps on Earth-warming carbon emissions (they didn't get into details about whether they should be voluntary or mandatory, or what those caps should be) and clean-coal technology.

For more on where McCain and Obama stand on the environment and energy, check out our chart.

(Image of Sarah Palin/Tricia Ward)

2 Comments

1. 1. fire1fl 08:09 AM 10/7/08

   Not trying to be overly sensitive, but why would you illustrate this article with Palin's picture without showing a drowning, endangered polar bear (she's suing against endangered status) or wolves being gunned down from a helicopter. Those speak more eloquently to her environmental ethos than anything she stuttered in a debate.

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2. 2. paydayloanadvocate 06:14 AM 10/24/08

   Sarah Palin, Vice Presidential Candidate, has been a target for media criticism more than she has for praise for her service and character. For instance, she appeared on Saturday Night Live last weekend after the show had spoofed her. The jeers continue, as the press continues to chip away at her performance as governor of Alaska to her 17 year old daughter becoming pregnant out of wedlock, and taking shots at her character. Furthermore, some liberal pundits maintain the position that the country will fall into shambles if John McCain were to be elected into office, then become incapacitated. Many of these diatribes are little more than character assassinations. A good number of Alaskans admire Sarah Palin. Her record shows her commitment to disabled persons, with a good deal of work with people afflicted with Down syndrome, autism, and other conditions that never received the care they needed and deserved. Many citizens champion her advocacy of personal responsibility and financial freedom, including her opposition to measures that would do away with cash advances, which are a legitimate resource that many working people have relied on and continue to do so as a resource for tough times to help them weather the storms they experience.
   
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