Let the debate begin

The Senate is set to begin a debate regarding the Climate Security Act sponsored by Senators Lieberman and Warner. The discussion over mandatory reductions of greenhouse gases is expected to be contentious and last about a week. The White House will veto the bill if it were to be passed by Congress of course. Warner, a Republican, dismissed the President's "concerns" regarding such legislation and stated that the "U.S. has to lead."

Environmentalists said the cost of inaction on global warming cannot be ignored.
"These costs (of doing nothing) dwarf the kind of costs that people are talking about from taking serious initiatives to do something about climate change," said Frank Ackerman, a Tufts University economist and co-author of a recent report on the potential economic impacts of global warming. He predicted huge annual economic costs by the end of this century from climate change, including water shortages in the West, rising sea level, increasingly intense hurricanes and even higher energy costs.

The Bush Administration is simply peddling "misinformation and untruths" regarding this any any other issues. Just take a look at this article that appeared in the Washington Post in April shows surveys that demonstrate that EPA scientists felt that their "Scientific findings are being suppressed and distorted" for political purposes. Shocker.

Or what about this recent USA Today article that elaborates on the fact the the White House had to be ordered by the courts to issue its mandatory climate report. The report was required by a 1990 law which says that every four years the government must produce a comprehensive science assessment of global warming. It had not been done since 2000.

Simply astonishing.