Readers in other parts of the world might be curious to know why so much attention has been focused on a single Senate race in the state of Massachusetts. The election, held yesterday to fill a vacancy created by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, was won by a Republican, Scott Brown. This is unfortunate, because he’s said that he doesn’t know if human beings cause global warming, and because it strengthens the hand of those in the U.S. Congress who want to take no action. It will make it more difficult to passglobal warming legislation in America–and that will make it harder for other countries to set targets.
However, there was also one good piece of news today. The Sierra Club, America’s oldest and most important environmental organization, named a new leader today. He’s Mike Brune, who used to run the Rainforest Action Network, and he’s a real champion of strong action on global warming, and of 350. All of us here think the world of him, and look forward to working with him.