If there was ever any doubt about the political nature of global warming, it was dispelled by the burying of a report by the EPA's own Alan Carlin.
Carlin compiled a 98 page report that pointed to some inconvenient facts that call the connection between CO2 emissions and global temperature into doubt, at a time when the President is pushing "urgent" carbon emissions regulation through the Congress. From FOXNews.com:"Specifically, the report noted that global temperatures were on a downward trend over the past 11 years, that scientists do not necessarily believe that storms will become more frequent or more intense due to global warming, and that the theory that temperatures will cause Greenland ice to rapidly melt has been 'greatly diminished.' "
Carlin's boss, Al McGartland, decided not to forward the report and had Carlin reassigned. According to Carlin, he implied that if he did not reassign him he would lose his own job. The official response from McGartland is below:
"'The administrator and the administration has decided to move forward on endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision," he wrote, according to the e-mails released by CEI. "I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office.' "
The President is not obliged to accept the conclusions of a staffer at the EPA, but that staffer works for us, ultimately. We have the right to know the facts and even the insights of those on the taxpayer payroll. It is a fact that global temperatures have trended downward over the past 11 years as greenhouse gas emissions have increased. That's not to say that trending toward lower carbon emissions is not a good idea. But, the urgency smells very phony. This is not about saving the planet. It's about money and control.