Global Warming: Rational Science, Rational Policy
HILL BRIEFINGFriday, July 19, 2002
12:00 p.m. (Luncheon provided)
Featuring Patrick J. Michaels, Cato Institute and University of Virginia, Author, The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming; and Jerry Taylor, Cato Institute.
B-338 Rayburn House Office Building
Ongoing western wildfires and Washington legislation continue to enhance global warming as a scientific and political issue. However, estimates of future climate change range from benign or beneficial to disastrous and apocalyptic. Examination of a number of trends established during the greenhouse era demonstrates that by far the most confident forecast is one of modest change. Attempts to stop that change legislatively will simply not work with currently acceptable or foreseeable technology. Instead, the history of technological change, with a strong incentive towards increased efficiency, suggests a long-term path that will minimize what are likely to be, at worst, modest climate changes. This path is best obtained with minimal government intervention and maximum private investment.