An austere, abbreviated and less political RNC kicked off yesterday in Minnesota, as Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Gulf Coast and stole the show.
An austere, abbreviated and less political RNC kicked off yesterday in Minnesota, as Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Gulf Coast and stole the show.
What remained? A business meeting, writes the Washington Post. The American Spectator kicks off its coverage in "Bye Bye Bush:"
As thousands protested in the streets, the Palins announced the latest addition to their family, and the GOP turned its national convention into a Jerry Lewis-style telethon for the victims of Hurricane Gustav, John McCain's party began its transition into the post-Bush era.
President Bush’s appearance was canceled, along with Dick Cheney’s. (Here's the list of what was to have been the RNC line-up.)
Meanwhile, top GOP climate leader Gov. Schwarzenegger announced he will skip the full convention on account of California’s budget impasse.
Laura Bush introduced several Republican Gulf Coast governors in the path of the hurricane, who addressed the delegates by video (below).
Not a mention, of course, of the causal connection between the worsening hurricane season and climate changes by anyone. That’s not surprising from the GOP. But Joe Romm notes that it’s fine time for the whole nation to admit what even the Bush administration has acknowledged.
From Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate, a report of the administration's U.S. Climate Science Program:
Changes in extreme weather and climate events have significant impacts
and are among the most serious challenges to society in coping with a
changing climate.
Many extremes and their associated impacts are now changing...The power and frequency of Atlantic hurricanes have increased substantially in recent decades...
Outside the tropics, storm tracks are shifting northward and the strongest storms are becoming even stronger.
It is well established through formal attribution studies that the global warming of the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced increases in heat-trapping gases...There is evidence suggesting a human contribution to recent changes in hurricane activity as well as in storms outside the tropics...
Gristmill, meanwhile, details the lockdown around the perimeter of the Xcel Center (more here), as the protests grew "ugly."
The expectation is to resume the RNC as normal by Wednesday. Revised schedule information for Day 2 will be added to the RNC site.
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DAY 1 SPEECHES
Laura Bush:
http://www.youtube.com/...
The article originally appeared on SolveClimate.com.