It's Global Warming, Stupid

Ever since the second debate, the progressive sphere has been clamoring about climate change — or more specifically, its blatant omission from the campaign. The fact Sandy came cosmically out of nowhere has not only raised the decible level but also elevated the issue to the elephant and donkey in the room. This week, credit a business magazine for winning the internet, and for re-fashioning Clinton’s blatantly mindful (and election-winning) watch phrase into a hard slap at all the Global Warming nay sayers and pussy-footers.

At the same time, what a wonderful if waterlogged newsstand duet between the corporate digest and the alt one. Clutching her copy of “An Inconvenient Truth,” a shellshocked Lady Liberty not only looks like she lost her island to Mother Nature but that she was maybe further shaken by witnessing Sandy take out The Bounty, as well. (In the meantime, we can probably assume Uncle Sam is off drilling somewhere.)

Just because something big is going down next Tuesday, by the way, that doesn’t mean it’s what’s fresh and real — not as real as the tast of climate change in the mouths of Atlantic Coasters right now. With the issue in the air, you know what I imagine looking at the TIME cover equalizing this gutless election? In the one direction, I see Romney on a heated planet. Turned the other way, I see it somewhat cooler.

By the way, don’t miss this wonderful post by an environmental studies professor named Roger Pielke Jr. juxtaposing a Newsweek climate change cover from, get this, 1996, with the current red-alert Businessweek edition. This time, surely, is different, right?

( cover 1: Businessweek. Creative Director: Richard Turley. cover 2: Utne Reader. illustrator: Kevin McVeigh. cover 3: unattributed)