A very interesting thing happened at a Senate hearing this week that hasn’t gotten much attention, but should. Several Republican senators disagreed with climate science denier-conspiracist Jim Inhofe on the science of global climate change:
It must be very lonely being the last flat-earther.
Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, committed climate-change denier, found himself in just such a position Tuesday morning as the Senate environment committee, on which he is the ranking Republican, took up legislation on global warming. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was in talks with Democrats over a compromise bill — the traitor! And as Inhofe listened, fellow Republicans on the committee — turncoats! — made it clear that they no longer share, if they ever did, Inhofe’s view that man-made global warming is the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”
“Eleven academies in industrialized countries say that climate change is real; humans have caused most of the recent warming,” admitted Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). “If fire chiefs of the same reputation told me my house was about to burn down, I’d buy some fire insurance.”
An oil-state senator, David Vitter (R-La), said that he, too, wants to “get us beyond high-carbon fuels” and “focus on conservation, nuclear, natural gas and new technologies like electric cars.” And an industrial-state senator, George Voinovich (R-Ohio), acknowledged that climate change “is a serious and complex issue that deserves our full attention.”
Inhofe even brought out his infamous list of scientists who supposedly disagree with climate change, which contains mainly economists, TV meteorologists, industry shills and scientists who have asked to be taken off the list. Boy, I can’t wait until Inhofe goes to the Copenhagen Conference.
So what has brought about this change in Republicans? We can only speculate but I think that some of the high-profile defections from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce could have played a role. A lot of companies believe that they can make money by reducing carbon emissions – either by trading permits or by saving in energy costs, if not both ways. I think they also see that global competition for energy is going to become a problem in the future, and want to take steps before it starts affecting business. The business community really has been leading on this issue for a while and I’m sure that is having an effect.
Climate Change resources, for people with a real interest:
The AP Statistical Study on warming trends (really well done journalism, IMO).
Climate Progress blog
Real Climate blog
Weather Underground climate change page
One of my favorites for argument-debunking: Deltoid‘s “Global Warming Sceptic Bingo”