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Sen. Inhofe, Other GOP Senators Hit Gore on Warming Phil Brennan In frequently testy exchanges Wednesday, former Vice President Al Gore bobbed and weaved under intense questioning from Republican senators, filibustering in an effort to avoid direct answers to probing questions, and at one point refusing to pledge he'd keep his own electricity bills in the same range as those of ordinary Americans.
Gore's 30 minute opening statement echoed the one he gave House members in the morning. The former vice president called for an immediate freeze on carbon emissions, told senators that even though the Kyoto treaty has not been ratified the U.S. should embrace its restrictions. He also suggested that the expiration date of the treaty - 2012- should be moved up to 2010 and a new and even tougher treaty should be adopted by the U.S. and the rest of the world.
In an opening statement Gore's most vociferous critic, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., discussed the ramifications of the Kyoto treaty, saying the cost of Kyoto and other CO2 reduction schemes are estimated to be over $300 billion . . . And who's paying for it? Those on fixed incomes and the poor, who as a percent of their monthly budget spend five times more on energy than the average household . . . the poor pay for it . . . and the science isn't there. We just can't do that to America, Mr. Vice President . . . and we're not gonna.
"It is my perspective that your global warming alarmist pronouncements are now and have always been filled with inaccuracies and misleading statements," Inhofe began. "Many of the peer-reviewed studies published in such journals as Nature, Geophysical Research Letters, and Science are radically at odds with your claims." He cited two such claims.
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One of the most contentious exchanges came when Inhofe challenged Gore to take a "Personal Energy Ethics Pledge" to consume no more energy than the average American household. Gore, who has been roundly criticized for running up astronomical electric bills at his Tennessee mansion with an electricity usage reportedly 20 times higher than the average American household, refused to take the pledge.
"There are hundreds of thousands of people who adore you and would follow your example by reducing their energy usage if you did," Inhofe said. "Don't give us the run-around on carbon offsets or the gimmicks the wealthy do," Senator Inhofe told Gore. "Are you willing to make a commitment here today by taking this pledge to consume no more energy for use in your residence than the average American household by one year from today?" Senator Inhofe then asked Gore to take the "Personal Energy Ethics Pledge which reads: "As a believer:
Again, Gore declined to take that pledge.
Inhofe told Gore "we've got thousands of meteorologists, geologists, physicists, astrophysicists, climatologists and scientists who disagree with you," and asked "are they all wrong and you're right?" Gore evaded the question by talking about having a breakfast chat with the senator and then cited scientific groups that he said agreed with him without ever answering Inhofe's question as to who is right.
Challenged to explain why some scientists are wrong when they attribute global warming to sunspots, Gore dismissed the suggestion, citing so-called scientific consensus that holds humans, and not the sun, are responsible for global warming in his defense.
© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.
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