McCain picks polar bear opponent for VP

Sarah Palin has drawn the ire of environmentalists with her support of offshore oil drilling

Presidential hopeful John McCain has chosen an enemy of the conservationist movement as his running mate. The political veteran selected Alaska governor Sarah Palin, currently embroiled in a lawsuit to have the polar bear removed from the endangered species list.

Palin opposed the bear's inclusion on the list in May, following a multi-year tussle between conservation groups and the Department of the Interior (DoI). She sued the DoI in August, claiming that including the bear under the Endangered Species Act would adversely hinder offshore drilling activity in the area. McCain is also an advocate of offshore drilling.

The League of Conservation Voters has condemned Palin's selection, in line with its official support of Barack Obama's platform.

"Unfortunately, with her support for drilling in the Arctic Refuge and off our coasts, Governor Palin will simply continue the failed policies of the Bush-Cheney Administration and their Big Oil friends – policies that could make us even more dependent on foreign oil," said the organisation's president, Gene Karpinski.

Mirroring McCain's move, relative newcomer Barack Obama chose long-time politico Joe Biden as his vice presidential pick. Biden has previously voted against opening up the Alaskan Natural Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling purposes. He also got a lifetime score of 83 per cent on the
League's "environmental scorecard".

However, his record has not been without environmental criticism. The LCV condemned a vote of his last year as "anti-environment" after he opposed an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act that sought to establish a commission which would give the Army Corps of Engineers extra money to prioritise water-related projects and avoid funds for those projects being eaten up by pork-barrelling.

The amendment was eventually passed by Congress after a presidential veto, but Biden's stance then is particularly timely now, as Hurricane Gustav makes landfall in the New Orleans area today and threatens to breach the levees constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers once again.