Good and Bad News About Global Warming

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Full of Holes

The hole in the ozone layer, thought to be caused by human use of refrigerants and aerosols, is slowly repairing itself. The New York Times reports while that's good news for environmentalists, some scientists warn it may actually contribute to global warming.

They say the ozone hole led to the formation of bright, moist clouds that helped keep the Antarctic from warming and melting. Ken Carslaw of University of Leeds says: "The recovery of the hole will reverse that. Essentially — it will accelerate warming in certain parts of the southern hemisphere."

Meanwhile, public concern over global warming is rapidly declining. A new Pew Research poll shows it ranks last among the public's top 21 issues for 2010, with just 28 percent considering it a priority. That's down 10 points since 2007.

Great Divide

President Obama is the most polarizing first-year president in history. Gallup says the 65 percentage-point gap between the president's approval by Democrats and Republicans is by far the largest of any president in his first year in office.

It is 13 points higher than the previous record holder Bill Clinton, and 20 points higher than his predecessor, George W. Bush.

President Obama enjoyed high approval ratings when he came into office, ranking among the best since the 1950s, including a 41 percent mark from Republicans. But by the end of the president's first year in office, only 23 percent of Republicans approved of him, tying Mr. Clinton for the lowest minority support for a first year president.

Sticks and Stones

And President Obama apparently is also losing ground in Indonesia. Authorities there are considering tearing down the statue of him in Jakarta only one month after it was unveiled. The statue of "Little Barry" in Menteng Park shows the president as a boy in the 1960s when he lived in Indonesia.

Critics say President Obama has done nothing for the country. And the social networking site Facebook has a group of 55,000 people calling for it to be removed. The group's page states: "Barack Obama has yet to make a significant contribution to the Indonesian nation. We could say Obama only ate and *blanked* in Menteng. He spent his subsequent days living as an American."

President Obama said in November that he and his family plan to visit Indonesia this year.

— Fox News Channel's Megan Dumpe Kenworthy contributed to this report.