Is this choice for real cause?

Senator McCain probably lost the few environmentalists who supported him, when he picked Sarah Pallin, governor of Alaska, as his running mate, writes Bharati Chaturvedi.

Senator McCain probably lost the few environmentalists who supported him, when he picked Sarah Pallin, governor of Alaska, as his running mate. It was a clear statement against the environment. Sarah Pallin’s environmental record is frightening, a list of don’ts. As governor of Alaska, she has till recently been against panicking about global warming, as it were. This, of course, is similar to George Bush’s own stance, till he was forced to realise that infact, the phenomenon existed. What’s Pallin done to get this reputation?

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Last year, she was vocal about not placing polar bears on a threatened list, even though the ice they lived off had melted away to historic levels. She has been for drilling for oil in Alaska, despite its fragile, and irreplaceable eco-system. And drilling for oil does spell the end of a natural eco-system. It will cause more ice to melt and increase carbon emissions. Reports say she has been in favour of aerial hunting of wolves as a measure of culling. But Alaska is the land of indigenous people, their culture will be doomed too, should such changes be brought about. How is it that people in some of the most responsible positions have not learned anything from their own history?

In August, enthusiasts sighted a rare bird the little Grassbird, in Sultanpur, Haryana. Nature has an unpredictable resilience. A simple little bird carried this basic lesson in one of the fastest growing industrialised states.