Beneath her warm and endearing facade, one could suspect that Sarah “Pit Bull with Lipstick” Palin
is outraged at the audacity of Global Warming as it threatens the favored sport of Todd “My Guy” Palin. “My Guy” has won the the “grueling 2,000-mile Tesoro Iron Dog [Pit Bull with Lipstick?] snowmobile race four times.” The now (in)famous Wasilla, Alaska, is the traditional starting point for both the Iron Dog snowmobile and Iditarod dog sled races. Traditional, that is … The Iron Dog race start has been been permanently moved north of Wasilla 30 miles as they have been unable to start the race there since 2002.
Why the disruption to “My Guy” and his favored sport? Two words: Global Warming!
In fact, with each passing year the racers have faced ever worsening conditions.
The 2003 Iron Dog Race was cancelled by rain during the “winter that wasn’t” — “From Finger Lake to Puntilla Lake on the south side of the Alaska Range, there were walls of alder that would normally be buried beneath the snow. From Rohn in the heart of the range across the Farewell Burn to Nikolai, there was open water or no snow.” Anchorage Daily News, 2/1/03]
The 2006 Iron Dog Race began in rain: “Rain hammered the puddles on the lake ice here Sunday as the world’s longest, toughest and once coldest snowmobile race met global warming. . . No one involved in the 22-year history of the Tesoro Iron Dog race…had ever seen anything quite like this: temperatures pushing 50 degrees in early February and standing water inches deep in places.” [Anchorage Daily News, 2/13/06]
The 2007 Iron Dog Race, won by Todd Palin, Gov. Palin’s husband, again had unusually bad conditions — “Drivers were pounded by a trail lacking snow. ”
If it were just snowmobiling under threat, this could be an item for amusement. Global Warming is not simply offbeat stories about new vineyards in England or the potential to grow crops in Greenland, but quite serious threats across the board, of great complexity, in a system-of-systems fashion of threats. When it comes to Alaska,
Giant wildfires rage. Extreme temperatures are
depressing oil and gas production. Alaska’s salmon fisheries and timber industry are under attack. Rising seas and melting permafrost are destroying villages. As the Bush administration ruled, the very existence of polar bears is under threat by the dissolution of sea ice by global warming. The extreme warming is impacting all other native Alaskan wildlife — from its boreal forests to beluga whales. As Timothy Egan wrote for the New York Times in 2002, “To live in Alaska when the average temperature has risen about seven degrees over the last 30 years means learning to cope with a landscape that can sink, catch fire or break apart in the turn of a season.”
As Governor, Sarah Palin’s response has been to “sue to challenge the recent listing of polar bears as a threatened species,” claiming scientific climate models are “unreliable.” As candidate, Sarah Palin has stated that she is “not one who would attribute [Global Warming] to being man-made”. Maybe she would like to listen to her running mate, that other “My Guy” at the top of the ticket.
We know that greenhouse gasses are heavily implicated as a cause of climate change. And we know that among all greenhouse gasses, the worst by far is the carbon dioxide that results from fossil-fuel combustion. John McCain, May 2008
What might be Sarah’s reaction to the Iron Dog’s start’s move north of Wasilla? If the past is any guide, barrred teeth and growling might be in order. Back in 2003, Sarah Palin ranted against the cancellation of the race (full letter below), wrathful against those who would cancel the . In another reaching out to her future running mate, Sarah brought Arizona into the discussion:
This is Alaska, and this is the Iron Dog! It’s not supposed to be easy, and conditions aren’t supposed to be perfect! If organizers are looking for a perfect trail, then let’s move the thing to a pretty, groomed trail in a state like Arizona where more bureaucratic, politically correct, cautionary rules and regulations will create the risk-free environment some are evidently seeking.
John McCain, Senator from “bureaucratic, politically correct … Arizona”?
=======================================================
From 5 February 2003 ADN Letters to the Editor:
Move Iron Dog to Arizona to please people who can’t handle Alaska
What is this? Alaska’s Iron Dog race is canceled due to mild winter
conditions that may cause “safety concerns for the racers”?This, after the race board of directors voted to increase the
snowmachine
engine limit to 1000 cc, thus allowing machines that travel at 130 mph.This, after 19 years of running this rugged, uniquely Alaskan event where
rookies and veterans willingly accept the inherent challenges in the world’s
longest snowmachine race.This, just two weeks before the start of this internationally known event
that helps put Alaska on the map.This decision was made by those who say they’re now worried about injuries,
possible environmental damage and potential lawsuits resulting from
less-than-perfect winter conditions along the demanding route.This is Alaska, and this is the Iron Dog! It’s not supposed to be easy, and
conditions aren’t supposed to be perfect! If organizers are looking for a
perfect trail, then let’s move the thing to a pretty, groomed trail in a
state like Arizona where more bureaucratic, politically correct, cautionary
rules and regulations will create the risk-free environment some are
evidently seeking.Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Alaska’s Iron Dog gets canceled
because it’s concluded it’s now too challenging, even for the experienced
racers who are willing and raring to go.— Sarah Palin
A comment to that letter:
Wasilla
I wonder if bothers wearing a seatbelt? Maybe I should hope that she
doesn’t, for everyone’s sake.
Hat tip Brad at Wonkroom and Jmknapp at DailyKos.