The same ethical advice for doctors also makes sense for Congress as it considers several pending global warming bills – first do no harm. Given serious questions about global warming science as well as the efficacy of costly proposals to address it, the best choice for Washington is none of the above.
With economy-wide cap and trade stalled in the Senate, a number of slightly scaled back variants have been proposed, including measures targeting selected industries or a carbon tax. All threaten to do more harm than good.
Before considering these measures, Congress should first get to the bottom of Climategate, Glaciergate, Hurricanegate, Amazongate, and other scandals that raise troubling questions about scientific credibility. Virtually every scary claim used to justify precipitous action—unprecedented temperatures, rapidly melting glaciers, increasing hurricanes, plummeting crop yields, disappearing rainforests—is under genuine suspicion. The fact that temperatures have been statistically flat since 1995 is another reason not to treat global warming as a dire crisis.
Haste in light of these scientific doubts is all the more troublesome given the cost of cracking down on fossil fuels, no matter how imposed. All of the legislative proposals have one thing in common—they reduce carbon dioxide emissions by driving up the cost of energy so that individuals and businesses are forced to use less. Inflicting significant economic pain (likely trillions of dollars and millions of jobs for cap and trade, somewhat less for watered down measures) is how this all works.
These measures have another thing in common—their uselessness. Even if one still believes the worst case scenarios of global warming, unilateral action against the American people and American economy would hardly dent the upward trajectory of emissions. China alone out emits the U.S. and its emissions growth is projected to be nine times higher than ours. And it is hard to ignore Chinese government officials’ frequent and unambiguous statements that they will never impose similar restrictions on themselves, though some global warming activists still try.
Washington cracking down on fossil fuels in the name of addressing global warming would result in much economic pain for little if any environmental gain. First do no harm.
While all this foolishness continues in Washington the American public continues to suffer with a short sighted and ineffective group of brigands.
What would be more important than"do no harm" would be for them to start the practice of "congress heal thyself" or we voters will begin excising the disease that is threatening our nation.
While all this foolishness continues in Washington the American public continues to suffer with a short sighted and ineffective group of brigands.
What would be more important than”do no harm” would be for them to start the practice of “congress heal thyself” or we voters will begin excising the disease that is threatening our nation.
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An extreme unethical action of government to be involved in this, along with everything else they should be barred from and have respect enough in the first place. The government and all those who follow, are the extreme.They're focused on everything that is none of their business while interfering in liberties and rights as America's defense (government's real job,) is diminishing.
Climate change happens! As humans, WE ADAPT!
I have not seen “Mr. Global Warming” … Al Gore in public or on TV lately. Did he get snowed in ?
Mr. Lieberman,
You don't seem to understand, the whole idea of our Fascist government is to destroy America as we have known it and turn it into a totalitarian state, either socialist or Islamic. With the inroads that Islam has made using our First Amendment, which never was to include Barbarians of the type we were fighting at the time of the writing of the Bill of Rights. Now, the Muslims that we thought were our allies, Saudi Arabia, are acting like all Muslims, thieves and bandits. All Islam yearns for only one thing, a worldwide Caliphate under Shariah law and will destroy any people and governments that don't submit. Right now they see the earth as having 2 worlds, the world of Islam, where there is peace, and the world of war. This is why they call themselves the "Religion of Peace", which it would be if everyone on earth submitted to fundamentalist Islam, they think.
Support the newest 'green job', the green starving artist .http://tinyurl.com/ybkllwj
http://tinyurl.com/james1337 and here is a review of my artwork from James Delingpole of the Telegraph.