Monday, June 26, 2006
Bush Ignores Science, Claims ‘There Is A Debate’ Over The Cause of Global Warming
This morning, President Bush was asked whether he believed global warming was a “real and significant threat to the planet.” Bush claimed there is still a real debate over the cause of global warming. Watch it.
Despite Bush’s repeated efforts to muddy the picture, there is no real scientific debate over whether global warming is manmade or naturally-caused. Most recently, the National Academy of Sciences has unequivocally stated that natural causes cannot explain the unprecedented warmth over the last 400 years. Rather, “human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming,” the report states. The failure to acknowledge this scientific fact prevents Bush from taking the necessary actions to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, which he once pledged to do.
Despite Bush’s repeated efforts to muddy the picture, there is no real scientific debate over whether global warming is manmade or naturally-caused. Most recently, the National Academy of Sciences has unequivocally stated that natural causes cannot explain the unprecedented warmth over the last 400 years. Rather, “human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming,” the report states. The failure to acknowledge this scientific fact prevents Bush from taking the necessary actions to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, which he once pledged to do.
Full transcript below:
QUESTION: I know you’ve said you are not planning to see Al Gore’s new movie, but do you agree with the premise that global warming is a real and significant threat to the planet?
BUSH: I think it’s — I have said consistently that global warming something is a serious problem. There is a debate over whether it’s manmade or naturally caused. We ought to get beyond that debate and start implementing the technologies necessary to enable us to achieve a couple of big objectives. One, be good stewards of the environment, and two become less dependent on foreign sources of oil for economic reasons and for national security reasons.
# posted by David @ Monday, June 26, 2006 
