"The science is settled." Those are the words Al Gore spoke to Congress in 2007 on the topic of Catastrophic Man Made Global Warming. And of course, the man who, in his own words again to CNN's Wolf Blitzer stated, "I took the initiative in creating the internet," should be paid the greatest of heed.

The dismissal of any debate whatsoever by claiming an unquestionable mandate is nothing new to the Left. Whereas one who is very sure of the intellectual and moral grounding of their argument welcomes opposing positions, confident that they will be roundly dispatched, one not so sure demands that any who hold opposing views be forced to remain totally silent.

Still, given that in the six years since Mr. Gore delivered his words to Congress Britain's MET office has been forced to admit through gritted teeth that in fact there has been no statistically significant increase in global mean temperatures for the past 16 years -- something equivalent to the president of PETA admitting she likes to unwind on Sunday afternoons by lounging naked on a baby seal skin rug while chowing down on a double Big Mac -- a reasonable man might be given to wonder if any who comprised this supposed overwhelming consensus of opinion on the topic of Catastrophic Man Made Global Warming, have, in light of the actual facts, changed their minds?

This question brings us to a new peer-reviewed study of more than 1000 engineers and geoscientists in Canada that found that 64% of such professionals did not think that humans were creating a global warming crisis. Or, as the study's authors put it, fuming with every key stroke:

The largest group of APEGA respondents (36%) ... express the strong belief that climate change is happening, that it is not a normal cycle of nature, and humans are the main or central cause.

Other interesting facts to emerge from the survey were as follows:

в—Џ 36% of engineers and earth scientists -- disproportionately young, junior women in the public service -- think man-made warming is dangerous and we should try to stop it.

в—Џ 56% say man-made global warming is between a zero danger and merely moderate one.

в—Џ 34% of engineers and earth scientists think man-made global warming is a hoax.

Leaving the authors of the study no other recourse but to state:

We find that climate science skepticism is not limited to the scientifically illiterate (per Hoffman, 2011a), but well ensconced within this group of professional experts with scientific training - who work as leaders or advisors to management in governmental, non-governmental, and corporate organizations.

Which translates to:

The majority of experienced, scientifically literate professionals within the fields of engineering and geoscience hold the idea of Catastrophic Man Made Global Warming to be bunk.

And these professionals do not stand alone. A recent survey of American Meteorological Society broadcast meteorologists found that 75% disagreed with the United Nations' claims that humans are primarily responsible for recent global warming. And further, that 81% thought that global climate models were unreliable in their projection for a warming of the planet. But still, what would such people know against a man who took the initiate to create the internet?

Such a question was undoubtedly playing through the mind of Barack Obama when he used his State of the Union Address to proclaim:

"If Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy."

Given that the U.S. Government Accounting Office estimates the cost of Global Warming Initiatives to Americans from 2003 - 2010 to be $122.8 billion and -- it bears repeating -- that Global Average Temperature has not shown a statistically significant increase for the last 16 years. It is appropriate to wonder exactly how much more money must be spent before the Left finally saves the planet to their satisfaction. And, what the cost to society of all this green will be.