George Rebane

Science be damned – it’s now only the politics stupid!  With last week’s pulling of Viscount Monckton’s invitation to testify before Congress alongside Al Gore – so Big Al would not be “embarrassed” (here) – the blitz to bamboozle, control, and tax the nation’s sheeple is in full swing.

Yesterday (28apr09) the US Chamber of Commerce announced the release of a study by Charles River Associates, “commissioned by the Coalition for Affordable American Energy (CAAE), exposing the economic consequences of the bill. The data projects broad increases in energy costs that will result in more than 3 million jobs lost by 2030 and a cost of more than $2,100 per household.”  (a link to the study and more here)

Confirming the initial findings of the Congressional Budget Office (here), this is just the latest in a series of reports telling anyone who will listen that the ‘cap and trade’ tax will be a national body blow.  And adding to the insanity, it will be a body blow that we will administer to ourselves and our children.

And wait, it’s not over yet, this madness will be uniquely American in its origin, nature, and application – no one else will follow us.  Dr. Benny Peiser, of CCNet and Social Anthropologist at Liverpool’s John Moores University says it best –

The international battle over global warming and how to deal with it will not be decided over scientific issues. It is being determined by governments and law-makers on the basis of national interests – that is on the basis of hard-nosed economic, political and geo-political considerations. Nowhere can the veracity of this realpolitik be better observed than in Europe and the United States, where costly climate policies face mounting opposition and gridlock amid deepening economic turmoil.

In recent months, the European Union has pulled the emergency brake on its long-established climate policy. Eastern and central European countries, together with Italy, are threatening to untie the strings of the EU’s climate pact. The financial meltdown has rendered its unilateral climate policy untenable and hugely unpopular among voters who are increasingly hostile to green and climate taxes.

While President Obama’s administration is struggling to push its cap and trade bill through the US Senate, developing nations are demanding financial support to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars in return for their support of a post-Kyoto climate treaty. In view of such astronomical demands made by China, India and Africa, Western nations are increasingly reluctant to embrace unilateral, Kyoto-type obligations that risk weakening their economic competitiveness. In response, Western governments are threatening developing and emerging nations with carbon tariffs and trade wars. Not surprisingly, international negotiations over a new climate treaty remain deadlocked, with little probability of a breakthrough in the near future.

Although this is not a surprise to RR readers, it should be an added stimulus (I love that word) for contacting your electeds on the matter.  And a hearty hat tip to Russ Steele of NC Media Watch who keeps us up to date on the science relating to climate change.