Copenhagen - Time for Talk is Over

So it is written, so it shall be done.  There won't be any parting seas or healing the planet, Obama's visit to Copenhagen was a bust.   Obama was described as visibly angry as he challenged the congregation of climate change worshipers and some obvious skeptics from China and India the time had come "not to talk but to act" on climate change.

No one seemed very impressed.  From the Guardian:

"Friends of the Earth said in a statement, "Obama has deeply disappointed not only those listening to his speech at the UN talks, he has disappointed the whole world."

The World Wildlife Fund said Obama had let down the international community by failing to commit to pushing for action in Congress: "The only way the world can be sure the US is standing behind its commitments is for the president to clearly state that climate change will be his next top legislative priority."

Obama has obviously failed to learn from his own recent history with the Olympics, his glorious last minute arrivals timed to save the day and produce a win are not working for him.  Coming home from Copenhagen with a binding agreement would have been a disaster for this country economically but would have given Obama a much needed victory to call his own.  It was not to be.  The handwriting has been on the wall that Copenhagen was not going to produce that much needed Obama victory.  While the leaked emails have cast doubt on the "settled science" on a growing global stage, it has become increasingly clear the country didn't see this issue as a priority here at home.

Free Golf Carts Stimulus Premiers on Stossel

John Stossel made an appearance on Glenn Beck to promote opening of his new show on Fox Business. His first topic is the fearmongering video premiered at the opening of the Copenhagen Climate Conference. Stossel ends with the free golf cart stimulus program sponsored by the government. Since the topic of free golf carts is trending near the top of google search trends, those interested in that portion of the video will find it at 6:09 into the video:




Update: Stossel's clip on Free Golf Carts can be seen here

A Day of Infamy for Global Warming Fatalists

Al Gore can stow away his hypnotic bag of tricks, the Obama administration is planning to announce this afternoon greenhouse gases are a threat and must be regulated. Carbon dioxide (which we exhale) and other greenhouse emissions pose a danger to our health and well-being. Be careful when you exhale folks! EPA administrator Lisa Jackson will make the announcement which will confirm the "endangerment finding" the administration signaled a willingness to declare back in April.

The move bypasses the necessity for climate legislation to be enacted opening the door for federal regulations on businesses large and small though the administration thinks they claims they can carve out exemptions:

The endangerment finding stems from a 2007 Supreme Court decision in which the court ordered the EPA to determine whether greenhouse gases qualify as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. It could trigger a series of federal regulations affecting polluters, from vehicles to coal-fired power plants.

Businesses argue that such a finding would mean even emitters as small as a mom-and-pop grocery store would be forced to comply with onerous greenhouse gas regulations. The administration has crafted rules that would exempt facilities that emit less than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide or its equivalent annually. But it remains unclear if that exemption would hold up in court.

 In light of our fragile economy and 30 year high unemployment levels, adding new taxes to businesses can't be expected to speed along recovery.  The threat must be awfully serious or the announcement is timed to boost credibility of the ridiculous summit currently underway in Copenhagen.  Bet on the latter:

"This action poses a threat to every American family and business if it leads to regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Such regulation would be intrusive, inefficient, and excessively costly," said the American Petroleum Institute president Jack Gerard in a statement. "There was no compelling deadline that forced EPA's hand on this decision. It is a decision that is clearly politically motivated to coincide with the start of the Copenhagen climate summit."

The Washington Post also reports business leaders predict the EPA regulations will be tied up in court for years which is hardly a consolation given this administration's propensity to act without the support of the American people.  Meanwhile the Al Gore brigade is just tickled pink with the news:

Bill Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, said officials on the state and local level "are extraordinarily pleased that President Obama is making this endangerment finding. It will trigger subsequent measures to continue on the road toward making significant progress to address the global warming problem."

Finally the Obama administration finds a problem they can solve.  Unfortunately it is one that doesn't exist.  

Read much more on this topic at Memeorandum

Rasmussen: There are a lot of Global Warming Skeptics out There

When the administration repeats the mantra of the global warming advocates, "the science is settled," they should be cautioned a majority of Americans are skeptical of that science. According to a new Rasmussen poll 52% of Americans believe there is significant disagreement among scientists on global warming, while just 25% believe there is agreement, 23% are not sure. A majority believe the science has been tainted:

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Americans say it’s at least somewhat likely that some scientists have falsified research data to support their own theories and beliefs about global warming. Thirty-five percent (35%) say it’s Very Likely. Just 26% say it’s not very or not at all likely that some scientists falsified data.

There seems to be a huge disconnect between the White House spokesman Gibbs, the energy Czar Carol Browner and the American public who view this science as corrupt. The skepticism doesn't appear to have come solely from revelations from the CRU emails alone according to Rasmussen:

This skepticism does not appear to be the result of the recent disclosure of e-mails confirming such data falsification as part of the so-called “Climategate” scandal. Just 20% of Americans say they’ve followed news reports about those e-mails Very Closely, while another 29% have followed them Somewhat Closely.

 As the President prepares to fly off to Copenhagen promising to cut emissions by 17% which would require the backing of legislation such as cap and trade, the American people are dubious.  He leaves at a time when the unemployment rate is over 10% and the economy despite protestations otherwise is a shambles.  His trip to Copenhagen which will be capped off by his award of the Nobel Prize serve to reinforce the narrative he is in love with the man in the mirror and is out of touch with the realities facing most Americans.

H/T:  Ed Morrissey be sure to read Ed's excellent analysis on this poll.

Copenhagen, Hopenhagen, Nopenhagen

From IBD, a scant two months before the big global warming conference in Copenhagen, China and India have said "thanks but no thanks" to the treaty being drafted to replace the Kyoto Protocol set to expire in 2012.  As the editorial points out, lack of participation by these two heavily populated nations makes the entire Conference pointless.

The agreement between India and China is likely to encourage other nations to follow their lead:

They're basically saying no to anything that forces them to impose mandatory limits on their output of greenhouse gas emissions. Other developing nations, including Mexico, Brazil and South Africa, will likely reject any proposals as well.

The deal was already in trouble. Three weeks ago, the Group of 77 developing nations met in Thailand to discuss what they wanted to do about global warming. Their answer: nothing.

The IBD editorial cites a piece by William Hawkins in American Thinker that underscores how these nations view the pressure to sign onto the treaty:

The author of the Science Times article, Wang Jin, used Ding's study as part of his larger argument that, "the massive propaganda ‘human activity induced the global temperature increase' has been accepted by the majority of the society in some countries, and it has become a political and diplomatic issue. Why do the developed countries put an arguable scientific problem on the international negotiation table? The real intention is not for the global temperature increase, but for the restriction of the economic development of the developing countries."

The failure to gain the support of these countries is what doomed the Kyoto Protocol and the handwriting is on the wall for Copenhagen as well.  This has not deterred the "hope and change" folks from launching a full scale effort to transform Copenhagen into Hopenhagen

 

Meanwhile, Lord Monckton has been issuing dire warnings that for the United States Copenhagen  should be a NOpenhagen.   Lord Monckton successfully sued to block Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" from being shown in British schools due to it's inaccuracies.  His warning to the United States is quite serious, signing the treaty will cause the US to cede authority.  He points to specifics in the treaty in a posting at Watts Up With That? and suggests those who are interested in preventing the US from signing in Copenhagen to call the specifics of the treaty to their Representatives and Senators.

Clearly there is little to be gained for the US in Copenhagen, yet stopping Obama from signing is an uphill battle.  China and India, just on the brink of recovery from the world-wide recession, are not willing to suppress their economic production on the basis of unproved science.  Their lack of participation, however, is most unlikely to stop Obama from pursuing his commitment to his grand green scheme.  Poll after poll shows declining acceptance that human activity is somehow contributing to fluctuations in global temperatures.  Even if it were proven, none of the measures proposed by Congress or through this moot treaty in Copenhagen.  Nevertheless, hope and change has invested in Copenhagen, wild horses won't be able to keep Obama away.