Climate-change witchcraft

Republican Senate candidates may or may not agree on the science behind
witchcraft, but they are united in disbelief in the overwhelming science that
demonstrates manmade causes to global climate change. Increasingly, these
candidates are doing their best to boil a witch’s stew of doubt by attacking
the veracity of science and scientists.

Emerging from the campaign trail is the notion that vulnerable House Democrats
are “losing” their races due mostly to their vote in favor of the American
Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). Let’s ignore the fact that the election
isn’t over yet and drill down on the false pretense that the ACES vote or
support for addressing our energy security and climate change is unpopular with
voters.
 
More and more, Americans are viewing climate change as a matter of national
security. Earlier this year, the Department of Defense declared climate change
a “threat multiplier,” and just this week The New York Times reported on Department of Defense efforts to develop
biofuels for our ships, tanks and planes to reduce our dependence on oil.
According to an Army report
cited by the Times, in Iraq and
Afghanistan, “for every 24 fuel convoys that set out, one soldier of civilian
engaged in fuel transport was killed.” (If you have a minute, check out “The
Daily Show’s” hilarious
send-up of the great irony of the military leading the way on clean energy
— segments starts at 3:35.)
 
Yet, inexplicably, Republican leaders — and many Democrats in Washington — continue
to block action on clean energy and climate legislation. Their excuse is that
the American people don’t want action. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 
Without exception, every credible public poll on the issue has demonstrated
overwhelming public support for Congress to address climate change and to
create a national energy policy that creates jobs, reduces our dependence on
oil and cuts pollution. Some examples:
 
· An ABC News/Washington Post
poll (conducted June 3-6, 2010) reported that 71 percent of adults think the
federal government should regulate the release of greenhouse gases in an effort
to reduce global warming, and just 26 percent thinks it should not.
 
· A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll
(conducted June 17-21, 2010) found 63 percent supported and just 31 percent
opposed an energy proposal “designed to reduce carbon emissions and increase
the use of alternative and renewable energy sources, even if it means an
increase in the cost of energy.”
 
· A USA Today/Gallup poll
(conducted June 11-13, 2010) found that 56 percent of adults favored Congress
regulating “energy output from private companies in an attempt to reduce global
warming,” and just 40 percent opposed it.
 
· An August poll released by the Benenson Strategy Group found that 63 percent
of likely 2010 voters support a bill that would “limit pollution, invest in
domestic energy sources and encourage companies to use and develop clean
energy. It would do this in part by charging energy companies for carbon
pollution in electricity or fuels like gas.”
 
That’s right. American voters would support a policy that holds polluters
accountable by charging them for the pollution they create. Shadowy front
groups supported by the oil industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are doing
their best to scare voters over energy policy. But the reality is the American
people want action on clean energy and climate change. The Republican leadership
is ignoring this support and ignoring the action of the Department of Defense
and has no plan to secure energy sources in the future other than maybe the
wiggle of a nose or the wave of a magic wand to make it all go away.