Hot In Herre

The National Academy of Sciences released a report, requested by the Congress, that shows that industrial activity is having an effect on rising temperatures globally. The media coverage in this and other stories focuses on the "debate" aspects as if they were talking about a Senate race. This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It's a human issue, and we owe it to future generations to understand what our impact to the planet is, and how we can stop it if it's detrimental. The retiring chairman of the House Science Committee gets it:

House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-N.Y.) sought the study last year after Energy and Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Tex.), a global-warming skeptic, subpoenaed Mann's computer programs, funding sources and other documents.

Boehlert said in a statement yesterday that the academy "shows the value of Congress handling scientific disputes by asking scientists to give us guidance. The report clearly lays out a scientific consensus position on the historic temperature record."

Of course, he's retiring, making the upcoming elections even more important, lest a flat-earther be given that Chairmanship.

I'm finally getting around to seeing An Inconvenient Truth this weekend, and hopefully the public is getting the message that this is not about a debate. It's about what we can do to stop the crisis of global warming.