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The climate change debate is often portrayed as a stark choice between two extremes. Do we try to save the economy or do we try to save the environment? Many in established industries argue vociferously that you need to protect the former to save the latter, or that if we act to protect our environment then we might end up killing the economy. Ross Garnaut, in his much awaited draft report, seeks to turn that argument on its head: Australia has much to lose from even the mildest impacts of climate change. If we want to save our economy, then...

WITH understandable reluctance, Prime Minister John Howard recently donned the political hair-shirt of a carbon trading system. On the same day, NASA chief Michael Griffin commented in a US radio interview that "I am not sure that it is fair to say that (global warming) is a problem that we must wrestle with".

FORGET Iraq. The politics of petrol will dominate the coming presidential election in the US. As much as one hates to upset the lofty foreign policy sensibilities of the Left, you need only set foot in the US for a nanosecond to see that the campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain are consumed by grassroots concerns over the rising cost of fuel. Just as in Australia, it is clear that the hip pocket nerve of working families may haunt the next US president, confounding efforts to address climate change. And the advocates of climate change are largely to blame....

Last winter, he proved to be a fiscal tightwad when he was one of 16 senators to vote against the economic stimulus package. "I find something extremely inappropriate about a deficit-ridden federal government borrowing money from our grandchildren and sprinkling it across the country for a short-term fix that will do little, if anything, to jump-start our troubled economy," he said. Many senators know a lot about fiscal issues. Far fewer are knowledgeable about the nexus between energy policy and the heralded "cap and trade" system for reducing global warming. On this issue, Corker has become an expert, at least...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California on Thursday took a major step forward on its global warming fight by unveiling an ambitious plan for clean cars, renewable energy and stringent caps on big polluting industries. The plan, which aims to reduce pollutants by 10 percent from current levels by 2020 while driving investment in new energy technologies that will benefit the state's economy, is the most comprehensive yet by any U.S. state. It could serve as a blueprint not only for the rest of the United States, ... "This is of tremendous importance, not only for California," Mary Nichols, chairman of...

For 30 years Jim Woolsey has been a hawkish guardian of American national security. As director of the CIA under Bill Clinton he lived every day with the terrorist threats to his homeland. Yet in his view, the greatest danger to the country now is not nuclear and chemical weapons but climate change and the American dependence on oil which is partly blamed for causing it. Mr Woolsey believes the greatest weapon in America's arsenal is not the stealth bomber, the Abrams tank or the F-16 jet – but the humble plug-in hybrid car that will let most people do...

Thankfully, cap and trade – aka the Warner-Lieberman “America's Climate Security Act of 2007” – suffered a quick death in the Senate this year.  Cap and trade is an inferior, anti-growth, environmental policy that imposes significant costs on our economy and people’s lives.  Cap and trade allows Congress to pass a huge tax increase while never formally voting to do so.  The large tax increase will diminish our overall economic vitality and reduce everyone’s welfare. Unfortunately, like a horror movie villain that keeps rising from the dead, the death of cap and trade is only temporary because cap and trade...

The rising cost of shipping everything from industrial-pump parts to lawn-mower batteries to living-room sofas is forcing some manufacturers to bring production back to North America and freeze plans to send even more work overseas. "My cost of getting a shipping container here from China just keeps going up -- and I don't see any end in sight," says Claude Hayes, president of the retail heating division at DESA LLC. He says that cost has jumped about 15%, to about $5,300, since January and is set to increase again next month to $5,600. HOMEWARD BOUND • The News: Soaring fuel...

Just as class struggle forms the nucleus of Marxism, so does it sit at the very core of the Left's climate alarmism. At a glance, the regressive nature of fiscal Carbon control schemes, be they taxation or cap-and-trade, would appear to be antithetical to liberal thinking. But beneath the veneer of both the domestic and international green agenda lies a devious wealth-redistribution plan compared to which all predecessors pale...

President Reagan liked to say, “There are no easy answers, but there are simple ones.” This principle applies to America’s energy woes. Since the Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007, the price of a gallon of gas has soared from $2.33 per gallon to over $4. Furthermore, over the next two decades, global demand for oil is expected to rise by 50 percent, meaning that further price escalation is almost inevitable. When confronted by these facts, the energy solution — as President Reagan would say — is simple. We need more energy! We should be increasing our production...

Sen. John McCain delivered a nearly pluperfect supply-side tax-cut plan yesterday, one that is worthy of conservative support, and frankly a real eye-opener showing just how good he can be. I wrote about it in my latest column. But then he goes on NBC’s Today Show this morning and gets the whole energy story wrong. Oh my gosh. When asked about gas prices at the pump, and whether they could go any lower, Sen. McCain said he didn’t think so because “You’ve got a finite supply, basically, and a cartel controlling it.” This is exactly wrong. There is no finite...

The recent spike in oil prices and unemployment is dramatically changing this presidential campaign — virtually overnight. The near $20 jump in oil to $140 a barrel, the unexpected half-point increase in the jobless rate to 5.5 percent (the biggest monthly increase in 20 years), and the resulting 400-point plunge in stocks has created a new campaign issue right before our eyes. Public worry number one is now oil, jobs, and the economy, with the inflationary woes of the U.S. dollar right underneath. The candidate who can connect with these issues will win in November. But so far neither Obama...

From its name, cap-and-trade legislation sounds harmless enough. Unfortunately, cap-and-trade would be more aptly called "tax and trade" or "tax and spend" and it is far from harmless, posing a serious threat to our economy and our personal freedoms. A parliamentary maneuver was used on Friday to kill debate in the Senate, but this is only the beginning. With many national leaders, influential lobbyists and powerful special-interest groups pushing hard for a cap-and-trade bill, there is no doubt that this is going to be a hot debate in the months to come as well. The bill in question is called...

Fellow Republicans in the Senate on Friday issued a stern message — a rebuke, really — to the man who will lead the party in November, by blocking a bill that sought to establish a noxious cap-and-trade system to combat “global warming.” Sen. John McCain went on record last month in support of such a program that would, in the long run, force Americans to pay for the simple act of emitting carbon dioxide. To their credit, foes of this measure, the handiwork of Independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Democrat Barbara Boxer of California and outgoing Republican John Warner...

This week, the Senate opened debate on the most massive tax increase in history and a government takeover of private industry that makes Roosevelt's New Deal look tiny by comparison. The sheer chutzpah it takes to even offer such a thing is breathtaking, matched only by how frightened we all should be by the sheer economic destruction it would inevitably cause and the loss of freedom to which it would directly lead. I am speaking, of course, of the ever-so-benign-sounding “cap and trade” bill. This bill would criminalize the normal energy usage and that goes with a prosperous economy and...

For months, Democrats and the environmental lobby promoted last week's Senate global-warming debate as a political watershed. It was going to be the historic turning point in U.S. climate change policy. In the event, their bill collapsed in a little more than three days. Democrats failed to secure a majority, much less the 60 Senators necessary, for a procedural vote on Friday morning that would have allowed the real work of amending the bill to begin. By that point, Majority Leader Harry Reid had already made it plain that he wanted the bill off the floor as quickly as possible...

Grouped By Vote Position YEAs ---48 Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Collins (R-ME) Dodd (D-CT) Dole (R-NC) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) Martinez (R-FL) McCaskill (D-MO) Menendez (D-NJ) Mikulski (D-MD) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME) Stabenow (D-MI) Sununu (R-NH) Tester (D-MT) Warner (R-VA) Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI)...

Brown lambasted for opposing global-warming vote Friday, June 6, 2008 11:24 PM By Jack Torry THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH WASHINGTON — Sens. Sherrod Brown and George V. Voinovich today helped block a sweeping bill aimed at curbing global warming, ending congressional efforts on climate change until next year. By a 48-36 vote, supporters of the bill failed to muster the necessary 60 votes to end a Republican filibuster and clear the way for final passage. Brown was one of four Democrats and Voinovich was one of 32 Republicans to support the filibuster. While Voinovich's decision to oppose the bill had been...

Environmentalists are stunned that their global warming agenda is in collapse. Senator Harry Reid has all but conceded he lacks the vote for passage in the Senate and that it's time to move on. Backers of the Warner-Lieberman cap-and-trade bill always knew they would face a veto from President Bush, but they wanted to flex their political muscle and build momentum for 2009. That strategy backfired. The green groups now look as politically intimidating as the skinny kid on the beach who gets sand kicked in his face.

U.S. carbon-capping climate bill dies in Senate 11 minutes ago U.S. legislation that would have set up a cap-and-trade system to limit climate-warming carbon emissions died on Friday after a procedural vote in the Senate. The bill aimed to cut total U.S. global warming emissions by 66 percent by 2050. Opponents said it would cost U.S. jobs and raise fuel prices in an already pinched American economy.

f this week's Senate debate on a proposed cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases was supposed to be a dress rehearsal for climate legislation, things are not looking too good for opening night. The week has been marked by parliamentary maneuvers and bitter accusations over divergent estimates of the bill's future costs. On Wednesday, a group of GOP senators asked that the clerk of the Senate read the entire 491-page bill aloud, an extremely rare request. That took more than 10 hours. Although parliamentary maneuvers could still extend the debate into next week, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) faced...

Call your Senators and Urge them to Vote NO on S. 3036! After promising to allow an open and lengthy debate on America's Climate Security Act (S. 3036), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed cloture to proceed to final passage, allowing NO AMENDMENTS and only ONE DAY for debate of a massive energy tax increase on American consumers. The Senate will vote on cloture tomorrow, Friday morning, June 6th! The latest word is that Senator Reid is actively working to gain over 50 votes for cloture. We cannot allow this many Senators to vote YES. Environmental groups will spin...

Senator James M. Inhofe Floor Statement Climate Debate June 2, 2008  Selected Excerpts of Senator Inhofe’s floor statement: We believe that any climate legislation must offer Clean Energy Solutions. Substantial investment must be made in new, clean energy technologies which generate more energy efficiently by producing less carbon, without the government picking winners and losers.  It makes good business sense to produce energy more efficiently and American companies are at the forefront of developing new technologies.  We support investments in solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and other innovative technologies.  But we must be careful not to interfere in the free market system or...

How does Washington plan to resolve our energy problems and control atmospheric temperatures? Well, how do they fix anything? By proposing a gargantuan boondoggle. A "cap and trade" bill, one that will supposedly cut 66 percent of our emissions by 2050, is being debated in Congress this week. To begin with, proponents of America's Climate Security Act have been misleading the public by claiming that cap and trade is a "market- based" solution. In truth, cap and trade does to the market what "American Idol" does to music. The idea sounds harmless: government caps emissions, and corporations trade the allotted...

For conservatives who would like to think the whole government should be handed over to the liberals for a few years until the Reagan wing of the Republican Party can get its act together, a quick look at a monstrosity under consideration by Congress is in order. Liberal Democrats and "green" Republicans are proposing a massive reorganization of the American economy to fight so-called global warming. Worse yet, proponents of this bill are attempting to sell this eco-socialism as a "market-based" policy, and their allies in the national media are going along with the charade.

It is not physically possible to show that ANY Global Warming law will have ANY effect on the climate. We will lose millions of jobs to India and China, where they don't buy this liberal hoax. Pure and simple, this is a tax to try to stop the sun from heating the earth. God help us.

Conventional wisdom suggests that times of high economic growth would be the most appropriate occasion to enact legislation that could be very expensive for American taxpayers. That’s not the case for Democratic California Sen. Barbara Boxer. Boxer, who is the chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and advocating the Lieberman-Warner cap-and-trade legislation, said a “recession” is the best time to do it because it will bring us “hope.” “[S]ome of our colleagues will say this: Why do this now? We are in a recession. Precisely because we are in a recession is why we should be...

Cap-and-trade is a huge tax hidden in a bureaucratic labyrinth of opaque permit transactions An unprecedentedly radical government grab for control of the American economy will be debated this week when the Senate considers saving the planet by means of a cap-and-trade system to ration carbon emissions. The plan is co-authored (with John Warner) by Joe Lieberman, an ardent supporter of John McCain, who supports Lieberman’s legislation and recently spoke about “the central facts of rising temperatures, rising waters and all the endless troubles that global warming will bring.” Speaking of endless troubles, “cap-and-trade” comes cloaked in reassuring rhetoric about...

  Major policy decisions require weighing of trade­offs, and that is especially true with regard to global warming. Clearly, the American people would not benefit from measures designed to address global warming that do more economic harm than environ­mental good. For this reason, it is important to weigh the consequences of any proposed climate legislation: both the costs to the American people and the bene­fits in the form of reduced adverse impacts from glo­bal warming.This Backgrounder is a companion to the Center for Data Analysis (CDA) report titled "The Economic Costs of the Lieberman–Warner Climate Change Leg­islation."[1] It concludes that...

Global Warming On the Rocks by: Emily Ham, June 02, 2008 As the congressional curtains open on the Lieberman-Warner “Climate Security Act,” the subjects of higher taxes, job expansion and economic growth are taking center stage in many people’s minds. The act, which deals with controlling levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced by the United States in order to protect the government will be open for Senate discussion for the few following weeks. And while many agree measures must be taken to protect the environment from carbon dioxide levels and such, some people are seeing a flaw in the act...

We’ll have to discard the old adage “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” It is inoperative in this era of global warming, because the whole point of controlling greenhouse gas emissions is to do something about the weather. This promises to be hard and perhaps futile, but there are good and bad ways of attempting it. One of the bad ways is cap-and-trade. Unfortunately, it’s the darling of environmental groups and their political allies. The chief political virtue of cap-and-trade—a complex scheme to reduce greenhouse gases—is its complexity. This allows its environmental supporters to...

WASHINGTON - An unprecedentedly radical government grab for control of the American economy will be debated this week when the Senate considers saving the planet by means of a cap-and-trade system to ration carbon emissions. The plan is co-authored (with John Warner) by Joe Lieberman, an ardent supporter of John McCain, who supports Lieberman's legislation and recently spoke about "the central facts of rising temperatures, rising waters and all the endless troubles that global warming will bring." Speaking of endless troubles, "cap-and-trade" comes cloaked in reassuring rhetoric about the government merely creating a market, but government actually would create a...

The current plan for dealing with global warming would trigger a lobbying frenzy to win new subsidies and preferential treatment. Robert J. Samuelson NEWSWEEK Updated: 12:42 PM ET May 31, 2008 We'll have to discard the adage "everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it." In this era of global warming, it is inoperative, because the whole point of controlling greenhouse-gas emissions is to do something about the weather. This promises to be hard and perhaps futile, but there are good and bad ways of attempting it. One of the bad ways is "cap and trade." Unfortunately,...

If there indeed is a second Great Depression to come, this will be the government measure that guarantees it arrives with a devastating gut punch. The U.S. Senate returns to session this week and will take up something deceptively labeled "America's Climate Security Act of 2008." It's a bill designed to combat man-made global warming. But anybody with a brain should be able to understand that the only thing this bill would "secure" would be our national demise. Not only is it one of those sadly classic bureaucratic "solutions" in search of a problem, it is a sad exercise...

Climate Bill Underlines Obstacles to Capping Greenhouse GasesBy Juliet Eilperin and Steven Mufson Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, June 1, 2008; Page A12 When the Senate takes up landmark climate legislation this week, its backers can be sure of just one thing: The obstacles they face show how hard it will be to enact a meaningful cap on greenhouse gases -- probably under the next administration. The next administration, not this one, because even supporters of the complex, extensively negotiated 494-page bill say that there is little chance that it will win Senate approval, less chance that the House will...

Introduction and summaryThe United States Senate will soon begin debate on America's Climate Security Act of 2007, popularly referred to as the Lieberman-Warner bill after its chief sponsors, Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA).The legislation ostensibly is intended to cut U.S. industrial emissions of greenhouse gases in an effort to reduce the risk of catastrophic global warming.  Senator Lieberman has estimated the bill would reduce overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by up to 63% by 2050.1  The policies the legislation would impose, however, have little hope of meeting this target and would likely have little impact on...

An influential coalition of Fortune 500 companies and environmental groups that was formed to support climate-change legislation has splintered over the Lieberman-Warner bill that is headed next week to the Senate floor. The U.S. Climate Action Partnership formed last year won't take a position on the bill, although nine of its members - including General Electric (GE, Fortune 500), Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) and four utility companies - signed a letter to senators backing the legislation. The letter, also signed by big environmental groups and obtained by Fortune, says: "Prompt action on climate change is essential to protect America's economy,...

Global Warming Follies by: Emily Ham, May 28, 2008 When it comes to the issue of global warming, it seems that there are three different types of people in the world: those who want to do something to put an end to it, those who don’t believe in it at all and those who really don’t care what happens. But what do you get when a country’s government finds itself in the process of passing legislation on a topic recent studies have proven to be a myth? One in the U.S. Senate, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, and the Boxer...

Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal strongly editorializes against the Warner-Lieberman cap-and-trade plan that allegedly will solve our alleged problem with global warming — now called climate change. This plan is very similar to the one Sen. John McCain announced two weeks ago. The Journal argues that cap-and-trade “would impose the most extensive government reorganization of the American economy since the 1930s,” including a huge tax increase, higher prices across-the-board, and significant losses to economic growth in the decades ahead. But why do we need a planned economy for energy or anything else? Why not a fully deregulated free market for energy...

The global warming debate arrives in the Senate next week, and it's about time. Finally, the Members will have to vote on something real, as opposed to their buck-passing to courts and regulators, and their easy trashing of President Bush. The vehicle is a bill that principal sponsors Joe Lieberman and John Warner are calling "landmark legislation." They're too modest. Warner-Lieberman would impose the most extensive government reorganization of the American economy since the 1930s. Thankfully, the American system makes it hard for colossal tax and regulatory burdens to foxtrot into law without scrutiny. So we hope our politicians will...

The ACCF/NAM study on Virginia Economic Impact on the State from the Lieberman-Warner Proposed Legislation to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Costs and Topics covered: Impact on Jobs Under L/W, Impact on Disposable Household Income L/W’s Impact on Energy Prices Factors Contributing to Higher Electricity Impact on Economic Growth Impact on Low Income Families Factors Contributing to Higher Electricity Prices Impact on Economic Growth Impact on Industry Impact on Low Income Families Understanding the economic impacts of the Lieberman- Warner Climate Security Act1 (L/W bill) can help guide choices on climate change policy(2) In this study, the L/W bill was analyzed...

NAM and ACCF unveiled a new study highlighting the National and 50-State Economic Impacts of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Change Bill. The SAIC Study assesses economic implications on future energy costs, economic growth, employment, production, household income and low income earners. These costs are detailed in their report, and need to be examined in the public arena along with the scientific proofs on climate change, and how climate change is effected by natural solar and ocean cycles and man. (links to economic study and reports available)

Hampton,Va.(HFR:WASHINGTON) A conservative, free-market advocacy group will begin airing ads this week pressing Senate Republicans and Democrats to vote against a bill that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Club for Growth wants to scuttle a bill by Sens. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, and John Warner, R-Va., that the Senate is scheduled to begin debating next month. Despite the ad campaign, the bill seems to lack the votes needed to overcome a filibuster. With $250,000 in radio and television spots, the Club for Growth is targeting Republican Sens. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Lamar Alexander...

Billions of pounds are being wasted in paying industries in developing countries to reduce climate change emissions, according to two analyses of the UN's carbon offsetting programme. Leading academics and watchdog groups allege that the UN's main offset fund is being routinely abused by chemical, wind, gas and hydro companies who are claiming emission reduction credits for projects that should not qualify. The result is that no genuine pollution cuts are being made, undermining assurances by the UK government and others that carbon markets are dramatically reducing greenhouse gases, the researchers say. The criticism centres on the UN's clean development...

Worried about gas prices hitting $4 a gallon and beyond? Imagine if they were $6, $7 or even $8 a gallon. Those levels are a certain possibility should Congress pass cap-and-trade legislation, which could face a vote in early June. Oil is trading at record levels, in excess of $120 a barrel. Leading Republican Sens. James Inhofe (Okla.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) both told the Business & Media Institute (BMI) energy prices would drastically increase if the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 2191) is signed into law. “The studies show it would be directly affected, would be a $1.50 a...

WASHINGTON – Sen. John McCain called Monday for reductions in carbon emissions and criticized the Bush administration for failing to lead the fight against climate change. "We have many advantages in the fight against global warming, but time is not one of them. … We stand warned by serious and credible scientists across the world that time is short and the dangers are great," the Arizona Republican said in a speech delivered at a wind-energy facility in Portland, Ore. "The most relevant question is whether our own government is equal to the challenge." McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, proposed...

Sen. John McCain's Portland-based global warming manifesto now puts all three presidential candidates -- and both major parties' leaders -- firmly in favor of aggressive cuts to greenhouse gases. McCain's goals, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, are less aggressive than those of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, his potential Democratic opponents. But they're a quantum leap from the goals in his home state. Under Arizona's plan, the state's emissions would still be 35 percent above 1990 levels by 2020. And they're a bit tougher than the combined efforts of the Western Climate Initiative, a...

GOP presidential nominee John McCain is using the idea of global togetherness to promote “a cap-and-trade system” to battle climate change. He said “Americans and Europeans need to get serious about substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years or we will hand over a much-diminished world to our grandchildren.” According to the Arizona senator, whose opinion column appeared in the March 19 Financial Times, the United States needs to work with Europe to create a replacement for the Kyoto treaty. “We need a successor to Kyoto, a cap-and-trade system that delivers the necessary environmental impact in an economically...

According to my esteemed colleague Rick Bell, the United Nations is making Premier Ed Stelmach grumpy. And who can blame him? The UN is threatening Canada and, by extension, Alberta. The threat is they won't let us trade carbon internationally because we apparently missed a reporting deadline. Taking crap from the UN is hard at the best of times, given it's the most monumentally corrupt and ineffective political body since the court of Louis XVI. It elects representatives from some of the world's most vicious, totalitarian governments to its human rights council, where they issue proclamations so anti-Semitic Joseph Goebbels...

The investment vehicle headed by Al Gore has closed a new $683m fund to invest in early-stage environmental companies and has mounted a robust defence of green investing. The Climate Solutions Fund will be one of the biggest in the growing market for investment funds with an environmental slant. The fund will be focused on equity investments in small companies in four sectors: renewable energy; energy efficiency technologies; energy from biofuels and biomass; and the carbon trading markets. This is the second fund from Generation Investment Management, chaired by the former vice-president of the US and managed by David Blood,...