The British government issued a highly authoritative, attention-getting report yesterday indicating that the effects of global warming could shrink the global economy by 20 percent.
The report's author, former World Bank Chief Economist Sir Nicholas Stern, says tackling the problem now will require one percent of global gross domestic product. Continuing to deny what is an obvious crisis and conveniently setting it aside for later will represent an exponentially greater cost to us and our children.
At this point, the science is beyond dispute. Our planet is warming, the fault belongs in part to mankind, the consequences are grave, and the time to act is now. Right now! No amount of obfuscatory spin by pollster Frank Luntz, who several years ago coined the softer phrase "climate change" to help mask the problem, will hide this sad fact any longer.
That's what makes U.S. Senator James Inhofe's (R-OK) position on the issue so painful. On many occasions, he has said that the whole global warming business is canard, somehow foisted on the public by liberals. What tragic, time-delaying nonsense from, yes, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. I mean, you just can't make this stuff up!
Here he is in a speech on the Senate floor last year:
As I said on the Senate floor on July 28, 2003, "much of the debate over global warming is predicated on fear, rather than science." I called the threat of catastrophic global warming the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people," a statement that, to put it mildly, was not viewed kindly by environmental extremists and their elitist organizations. I also pointed out, in a lengthy committee report, that those same environmental extremists exploit the issue for fundraising purposes, raking in millions of dollars, even using federal taxpayer dollars to finance their campaigns.
The report's author, former World Bank Chief Economist Sir Nicholas Stern, says tackling the problem now will require one percent of global gross domestic product. Continuing to deny what is an obvious crisis and conveniently setting it aside for later will represent an exponentially greater cost to us and our children.
At this point, the science is beyond dispute. Our planet is warming, the fault belongs in part to mankind, the consequences are grave, and the time to act is now. Right now! No amount of obfuscatory spin by pollster Frank Luntz, who several years ago coined the softer phrase "climate change" to help mask the problem, will hide this sad fact any longer.
That's what makes U.S. Senator James Inhofe's (R-OK) position on the issue so painful. On many occasions, he has said that the whole global warming business is canard, somehow foisted on the public by liberals. What tragic, time-delaying nonsense from, yes, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. I mean, you just can't make this stuff up!
Here he is in a speech on the Senate floor last year:
As I said on the Senate floor on July 28, 2003, "much of the debate over global warming is predicated on fear, rather than science." I called the threat of catastrophic global warming the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people," a statement that, to put it mildly, was not viewed kindly by environmental extremists and their elitist organizations. I also pointed out, in a lengthy committee report, that those same environmental extremists exploit the issue for fundraising purposes, raking in millions of dollars, even using federal taxpayer dollars to finance their campaigns.