I agree with the earlier comment about wishing that George Will had been equally as tenacious in questioning George Bush. Also, while hoping for being consistently tenacious, one would hope for being consistently accurate too. I emailed the WMO (World Meteorological Organization) and inquired if they can support George Will???s statement and WMO reference about global temperatures not rising in a decade. Following is the WMO response:
"1998 still remains the global temperature record due mainly to the impact of the strong 1998 El Niño event. However, the underlying global temperature upward trend still continues to be recorded. ?????? The decade of 1998-2007 was the warmest on record, according to data sources obtained by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Since the beginning of the 20th century, the global average surface temperature has risen by 0.74 °C. ?????? There is a distinction between climate change and climate variability. When looking at longer periods, global temperatures continue to increase, showing global warming. ??? ???WMO's position on climate change is clear from the press releases available on its website (www.wmo.int). "???
World Meteorological Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
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Questions For McCain
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• You say that even if global warming turns out to be no crisis (the World Meteorological Organization says global temperatures have not risen in a decade), even unnecessary measures taken to combat it will be beneficial because "then all we've done is give our kids a cleaner world." But what of the trillions of dollars those measures will cost in direct expenditures and diminished economic growth—hence diminished medical research, cultural investment, etc.? Given that Earth is always warming or cooling, what is its proper temperature, and how do you know?
• You propose a "cap and trade" system to limit the carbon dioxide that many companies can emit. Is not your idea an energy- rationing proposal akin to Bill Clinton's BTU tax?
• You say "some greedy people" on Wall Street "perhaps need to be punished." So, government should treat greed as a crime—as punishable? What other departures from virtue deserve punishment? How do you distinguish between greed and the socially useful pursuit of personal gain? Your top 20 contributors include this dozen: Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers, Bank of New York Mellon, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia Group, Bridgewater Associates, Blackstone Group and Bear Stearns. Are any contributions from these financial institutions so tainted by greed that you are returning them?
• Having raised $95 million in February and March, Barack Obama is reconsidering whether to rely on taxpayer funding in the general election, which would limit him to spending only $84.1 million. You denounce Obama for this, but your adviser Charles Black says, "We could sit down in July or August and say, 'Hey, we're raising a lot of money and maybe we should forgo [taxpayer financing].' We don't have enough data." Really, how does your position differ from Obama's?
• More than 90 percent of taxpayers refuse to use the $3 checkoff on their tax forms to fund campaigns—even though doing so would not increase their tax bill. Given such annual landslide "votes" against taxpayer funding, why is relying on it more virtuous than Obama's expected reliance on voluntary contributions from dedicated individuals?
Just wondering.
© 2008
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