Climate Change

Kevin Ranker, a candidate for state Senate in the 40th District who won the Democratic Party's nomination in May, testified before Congress last week on the subject of climate change and its impact on the Puget Sound.

He talked to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and the Coast Guard on issues like salmon health, acidity levels and sea level rise. Ranker is a member of the San Juan County Council and Chair of the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council.

The Washington State Democratic Party has released a video on youtube today mocking Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi's ambivalence on climate change. Recently, he has made remarks in support of the existence of gloabl warming, but as recently as two months ago in Kitsap County and two weeks ago in the Seattle Times he was not so clear.

The Democrats focus on statements Rossi made at a meeting with the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce in March where he was asked his position on global warming. They have video of Rossi's response where he says, "There is still a lot of debate going on on this. There is going to be a big debate on this coming up in the next two or three years...We'll see how this debate goes, but I don't think anybody should panic at this point."

NORTH BEND -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain participated in a roundtable discussion on environmental issues today at the Cedar River Watershed Education Center in Eastern King County. McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, was joined by a wide slate of interested parties, ranging from Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland to REI CEO Sally Jewel, former Gov. Dan Evans and Mercer Island City Councilman Steve Litzow along with a handful of local business and non-profit group leaders.

Local Republicans in attendance at the event included Attorney General Rob McKenna, who is McCain's state chair, former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, former Secretary of State Ralph Munro, state Sen. Cheryl Pflug and party Chairman Luke Esser. The first thing off their tongues was their excitement at having such a prominent national figure in town.

Sen. John McCain leads a roundtable discussion