Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski Senator Lisa Murkowski [3] (R-Alaska) accepts the reality of global warming [4] and man's contribution to it, and says she wants to do something about it. She points out that as one of the states most imperiled by rising global temperatures, Alaska [5] is "ground zero for climate change." Two years ago, she sought a bill to rein in carbon emissions. But her actions now are consistently the opposite of her words. Murkowski opposes the White House's environmental initiatives, and has launched a legislative attack on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [6]'s authority to regulate carbon dioxide. She has made it clear that the price for getting her vote on any climate bill is a long list of favors for the oil and gas industries, including a demand that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [7] be opened to oil and gas drilling. Murkowski, who once seemed to represent a pro-environment voice among Republicans, is now among the most effective forces obstructing legislation to help the environment.