"Despite the lack of a scientific consensus to warrant such measures, climate change alarmists — in the heat of the summer for the scariest effect — are promoting mandatory caps on carbon dioxide emissions in the USA. It's a classic case of 'ready, fire, aim,' " Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican and chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, writes in USA Today.
"Until recently, the foundation of climate change alarmism has been the so-called hockey stick graph. The graph, constructed by ... Michael Mann, a professor at the University of Virginia, and shaped like a hockey stick, purports to show a link between rising temperatures and human activity," said Mr. Inhofe, to whom the newspaper provided space for an opposing view beneath an editorial that compared President Bush and global-warming skeptics to "the flat-Earth brigade."
"Recent Canadian research discredited the graph because of its errors and improper methodologies," Mr. Inhofe said.
"In spite of this, some still seek to solve a problem even before it has been established one exists. Two Senate bills would, like the Kyoto Protocol, cap carbon dioxide emissions. Wharton Econometrics Forecasting Associates estimates that the costs of implementing Kyoto would cost an American family of four $2,700 annually.
"Two international leaders once described Kyoto's intent. Margot Wallstrom, the European Union's commissioner on the environment, said Kyoto is 'about leveling the playing field for big businesses worldwide,' and French President Jacques Chirac called it 'the first component of an authentic global governance.'
"MIT professor ... Richard Lindzen sums up the current state of affairs best: 'Science, in the public arena, is commonly used as a source of authority with which to bludgeon political opponents and propagandize uninformed citizens. ... A fairer view of the science will show that there is still a vast amount of uncertainty — far more than advocates of Kyoto would like to acknowledge.'
"Based on that uncertainty, our constituents hardly need 'global governance,' but they do deserve responsible governance at home." |
