SARAH PALIN ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Palin likens global warming studies to 'snake oil'
Judy Lin, February 8, 2010 (San Jose Mercury Times)

"… [Speaking before a logging conference in Redding, California, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin] said California's heavy regulatory environment makes it difficult for businesses to succeed…[and] criticized what she said were heavy-handed environmental laws. As Alaska governor…she sued the federal government to overturn the listing of polar bears as a threatened species…because it could thwart [oil and gas] explorations… [Palin disagrees] with the science the government used to support the listing."

[Palin on environmental laws and climate change:] "We knew the bottom line ... was ultimately to shut down a lot of our development…And it didn't make any sense because it was based on these global warming studies that now we're seeing (is) a bunch of snake oil science."

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"Palin urged the federal government to allow states to make such decisions…Palin made her appearance in a state that often has led the nation on environmental regulations…[California’s] Global Warming Solutions Act, which passed in 2006 and has been championed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, requires greenhouse gas emissions statewide to be cut to 1990 levels by 2020.

"But that and other state environmental laws have come under increasing attack from Republican state lawmakers…Last week, the secretary of state cleared the sponsors of a ballot petition seeking to suspend the 2006 law until the state unemployment rate falls to 5.5 percent and stays there for a year. Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has criticized the law as being too much of an economic burden while businesses are trying to recover from the recession."

2008 presidential campaign historians and Steve Schmidt, John McCain's campaign manager, talk about Palin. From AmyBLUF via YouTube

Palin on the international climate change treaty and environmental protections:] "Yeah, I don't think much of it…The weather will not change with the proposals…California is tough in this respect…Man, it is expensive to do business here and to get anything done ... I do think there's hope though, because more Americans are becoming aware of the absurdity of such a situation. Maybe California is just a little behind the times."

[Palin on forest protections:] "We sought to protect the diversity of our forests and our wildlife while sustaining jobs and subsistence for residents of our state…We really do love our trees…I named my daughter Willow. Isn't that granola enough for them?”