The Heritage Foundation - Leadership for America

Here’s a preview of what’s happening this week in Washington.

The Lieberman-Warner climate change bill may cost the sponsoring senator’s states dearly — Connecticut’s economy will lose $6.8 billion and Virginia’s economy will lose $12.2 billion in 2030. Presidential candidates’ home-state economies will also suffer — John McCain’s Arizona will suffer $7.7 billion and Obama’s Illinois will lose $19.6 billion in 2030. According to Heritage’s analysis, the cumulative gross domestic product losses are at least $1.7 trillion and could reach $4.8 trillion by 2030 using inflation adjusted dollars. Is economic stagnation an appropriate price for minimal carbon dioxide emissions?

Last week Bush administration officials took the dangerous step of listing the polar bear as threatened because global warming because climate change is said to threaten its icy habitat. While the administration will try to nullify economic concerns by including a buffer for unintended consequences, the decision marks a huge victory for radical environmentalists, polar bear huggers and trouble for main-street Americans. Read Legislative Lowdown in Human Events.

Heritage’s Ben Lieberman has written that ethanol mandates have caused higher food and gas prices with minimal environmental benefit. Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has introduced legislation to get rid of the mandate and other benefits for ethanol. Let the free market work to get gas prices down to reasonable levels.