Carly Fiorina was just nominated by the California GOP to challenge Senator Barbara Boxer, this November. She's not only utterly self-serving in her political ambition, she is dangerously ignorant about the most important political issues. As the New York Times reported, yesterday:
One of the Senate's top sponsors of climate change legislation is being attacked for prioritizing "the weather" over terrorism, part of Republican attempts to use anti-global warming themes in several primary races ending with elections today.
Carly Fiorina, who appears poised to win California's Senate Republican primary race, is already turning her sights on Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer, releasing a television ad last Thursday that mocks the three-term senator for saying climate change is "very important" to national security.
"Terrorism kills, and Barbara Boxer's worried about the weather," Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co., says in the ad. "We've had enough of her politics. I'll work to keep you safe."
Fiorina hasn't a clue about climate change, or about national security. As the Wonk Room's Brad Johnson pointed out, last February:
For the first time, the Pentagon’s primary planning document addresses the threat of global warming, noting that it will accelerate instability and conflict around the globe. Former Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) added language requiring the department to consider the effects of climate change on its facilities, capabilities, and missions to the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. The Department of Defense’s Quadrennial Defense Review, officially released today, discusses the department’s "strategic approach to climate and energy":
Climate change and energy are two key issues that will play a significant role in shaping the future security environment. Although they produce distinct types of challenges, climate change, energy security, and economic stability are inextricably linked. The actions that the Department takes now can prepare us to respond effectively to these challenges in the near term and in the future.
The QDR notes that climate change affects the Department of Defense "in two broad ways": first, global warming impacts and disasters will "act as an accelerant of instability or conflict," and second, military installations and forces around the globe will have to adapt to rising seas, increased extreme weather, and other effects of global warming:
How does Fiorna expect to keep anyone safe when she ignores what the Pentagon itself considers a significant security issue?
On Sunday, Agence France-Presse had this:
Weather-related catastrophes brought about by climate change are increasing, the top UN humanitarian official said Sunday as he warned of the possibility of "mega-disasters".
John Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, said one of the biggest challenges facing the aid community was the problems stemming from changing weather patterns.
"When it comes meteorological disasters, weather-related disasters, then there is a trend upwards connected with climate change," Holmes, who is in Australia for high-level talks on humanitarian aid, told AFP.
"The trend is there is terms of floods, and cyclones, and droughts."
Are increasingly dangerous natural disasters a security issue? Perhaps Fiorina should ask residents of Florida and Louisiana. And as the New York Times reported, just over a year ago:
There could be 200 million of these climate refugees by 2050, according to a new policy paper by the International Organization for Migration, depending on the degree of climate disturbances. Aside from the South Pacific, low-lying areas likely to be battered first include Bangladesh and nations in the Indian Ocean, where the leader of the Maldives has begun seeking a safe haven for his 300,000 people. Landlocked areas may also be affected; some experts call the Darfur region of Sudan, where nomads battle villagers in a war over shrinking natural resources, the first significant conflict linked to climate change.
Perhaps Fiorina should consider the political and military consequences of 200 million people being forced from their homes. Where will they go? How will some nations attempt to prevent their immigration? What are the impacts on terrorism and war when so many people are so desperate merely to survive?
The Bush Administration already was quibbling with Canada over the inevitable Northwest Passage. Russia and Canada have been jockeying for possession of Arctic mineral rights. The U.S. Navy already is planning for more deployments in what will be an increasingly important and contentious region. And Fiorina is mocking Senator Boxer?
Carly Fiorina's ignorance about climate change is not just embarrassing. Given the national security implications alone, it is dangerous. We simply cannot afford such dangerous ignorance in politics.