The global warming scare may have peaked

By Thomas Lifson

New Jersey State Assemblyman Michael Doherty has earned a place in the history books. So far as I know, he is the first politician to call openly for repeal of economically harmful legislation deriving from the global warming scare. His PR release reads in part:

Responding to various new scientific reports questioning the concept of global warming, Assemblyman Michael Doherty today called on Governor Corzine to hold off on proposing any new regulations associated with the state's Global Warming Response Act and urged the Legislature to repeal that act when it returns to legislative business after Labor Day.

"There are many credible members of the scientific community who have questioned the theory of global warming, and now we have some scientists actually suggesting the earth's temperatures may be entering a period of dramatic cooling," said Doherty, R-Warren and Hunterdon. "With this growing level of scientific uncertainty, it makes no sense to enact a new set of economically damaging regulations prompted by the global warming hysteria of recent years."

It will be fascinating to watch the political and popular response to his call. The strategy of Al Gore to dismiss the issue as settled science has failed. The public, which once went along with environmental scares, such as fears about offshore drilling, is increasingly cynical about what it reads in the media, and about scares pushed by those with a political agenda. Few people yet realize that Al Gore and his Silicon Valley venture capitalist backers, hope to score huge profits from the trading of carbon indulgences.

Given the awkward fact that predictions of warming have failed to materialize, plus a back-to-basics mood when it comes to handling the economy, Assemblyman Doherty's move could catch on elsewhere if he appears to win public support.

This could be the beginning of the end for the warmist panic.

Hat tip: Drudge