Day: June 22, 2009

Skeptics beating Al Gore: Dem advisors say drop global warming as lead message

A public relations firm advising Democrats on climate legislation says that global warming alarmism needs to be dropped.

According to a memo from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, global warming should not be used as the “primary frame”:

Awareness about global warming is broad, and some in the public are seriously concerned about it. But almost no one in our groups expressed such concern; for most voters, global warming is not significant enough on its own to drive support for major energy reform. So while it can be part of the story that reform advocates are telling, global warming should be used only in addition to the broader economic frame, not in place of it.

Now you know why the skeptics were more than delighted to have Al Gore as the leading messenger for global warming alarmism.

BTW, the Greenberg Quinlan Rosner also notes that the term “green” should be dropped:

“Green” is meaningless or confusing — the term “clean” resonates with voters.

So does this mean that Steve Milloy will need to re-title his new book “Clean Hell“?

Dems woo 11 House GOP-ers on climate bill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Energy and Commmerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman are reaching out to the following House Republicans for their support on Waxman-Markey, according to Carbon Control News:

Tim Johnson (IL)
Vernon Ehlers (MI)
Todd Platts (PA)
Jim Gerlach (PA)
Mary Bono Mack (CA)
Mike Castle (DE)
Frank LoBiondo (NJ)
Tom Petri (WI)
Peter King (NY)
Mark Kirk (IL)
Leonard Lance (NJ)

If you are represented by one of these congressmen, contact the member and tell him/her to oppose Waxman-Markey. The preferred contact method is visiting/calling/writing/e-mailing the member’s local office. Otherwise, contact them at their Washington, D.C. offices.

How green is a Prius?

Check out this Washington Post letter-to-the-editor (June 21):

The June 9 Business article “Toyota Wants New Prius to Be America’s Next Top Model” called the Prius an “eco-icon” and said that it has allowed Americans to “advertise their eco-correctness.” A Toyota spokesman was quoted as saying that many Prius buyers want to “make an environmental statement.”

The Prius’s reputation as a “green” car is completely undeserved. The culprit is its nickel metal hydride battery.

The nickel is mined in Sudbury, Ontario, and smelted nearby, doing damage to the local environment. The smelted nickel is shipped to Wales, where it is refined. Then it is sent to China to be made into nickel foam. Then it goes to Japan, where it is made into a battery. Then it goes into cars, some of which are shipped to the United States and some of which go to Europe. All of that seaborne transport consumes a lot of fossil fuel.

CNW Marketing rates cars on the combined energy needed “to plan, build, sell, drive and dispose of a vehicle from initial concept to scrappage.” A Prius costs $2.87 per lifetime mile. By comparison, an H3 Hummer costs $2.07 per lifetime mile. Then there will be the problem of disposing of the used batteries.

This is not a “green” car; it is a “brown” one.

JAMES CLIVIE GOODWIN

Fairfax

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