My Favorite Year

Chris Horner, CEI, posted on PlanetGore

With my internet in rural Virginia finally back up…again, for now…I cannot resist noting Bill Clinton's most recent re-insertion of himself into presidential politics, claiming that "We Just Have to Slow Down Our Economy" to fight global warming".

This candor harkens back to an even more bizarre, if still remarkably similar, comment during a 2003 Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing. Then, according to colleagues in the room (I have not located a hearing transcript) Sen. Joseph Lieberman explained away 2002 temperatures not having come through as warm as some advocates had predicted with the rationale that, well, the economy had slowed down. Ah.

Each and every candidate should of course be immediately asked for a substantive response to the former president's argument, which really makes the climate realists' case that the economic pain from the various proposals is real even though no one claims any proposal ever tabled would yield climatic gain.

What with the raging debate about the key issue of the climate's sensitivity to greenhouse gas forcing, it may also be an opportune time to ask candidates if they accept Lieberman's claim of a remarkably responsive climate system and, if so, tell the voters what year they liked the weather best. We will then know their plan is to cap economic activity at the corresponding, previous year's level. It all just makes sense.