Debunking the Left on global warming
October 20, 2009 | By Amanda Reinecker
More than 6,000 groups in 27 different countries tuned in Sunday to watch The Heritage Foundation's premiere of Not Evil, Just Wrong, a feature-length documentary countering global warming hysteria and explaining the dangerous consequences of the Left's environmental policies.
» Learn more about the film and watch the two-minute trailer.
Not Evil, Just Wrong illustrates on film what Heritage experts have been telling lawmakers, the media and the American people about global warming legislation: these new regulations will impose a huge burden on the economy. New Heritage research drives the point home. Writing on Heritage's blog, the Foundry, Heritage expert Nick Lorris details important new studies finding that "far more jobs would be destroyed than green jobs created, households will lose income, and the economy as a whole will be operating $9.4 trillion under its potential from 2012-2035 -- all because of cap and trade."
The documentary puts a human face on the widespread job losses resulting from climate change legislation, which would pummel critical American industries that depend on traditional energy sources. And it sheds light on the harmful policies that burden people and industry in exchange for little or no environmental benefit.
Joining the expert panel at the Heritage premiere, director Ann McElhinney explained why she sought to counter the Left with Not Evil, Just Wrong:
They don't allow us to teach religion in the public schools of America . . . but there is a religion being taught and it's not based on anything factual. It's a green religion . . . This is not good. It's a religion that hates America . . . and anyone who ignores it is ignoring it at their own peril.
The panel discussion, moderated by journalist Andrew Breitbart, also included MIT meteorology researcher Richard Lindzen; medical researcher Donald Roberts; and Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund.
» Watch a video of the panel discussion on MyHeritage.org.
While each panelist offered a different perspective, each defended the same, sound conclusion: "There's a right way and a wrong way to protect the environment. Americans are completely capable of being good stewards of the environment without the government telling us how or why."
Instead of undermining American prosperity and free enterprise by enacting radical environmental regulations, Congress should work to diversify our energy sources. These new sources include expanded domestic oil production, nuclear energy, coal and renewable fuels. Heritage experts argue that lawmakers should craft "policies that will lower gas and electricity prices rather than raise them. When government impediments are lifted, America's energy entrepreneurs can develop innovative and market-driven solutions to our energy needs."
Health care update
- Under Congress' health care "reform" proposal, up to 14 million more people will be dependent on the government-run Medicaid and SCHIP programs. "Yet, as Medicaid shows, access to a government program is not access to health care," Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) writes in an article coauthored with Heritage health care expert Dennis Smith.
Why is the government moving so many people to these less-than-effective programs? "It's cheaper -- at least on paper." That's because the costs of this change are shifted from the federal government to the states. Of course, most states can't afford even their current share of Medicaid costs, let alone an expansion.
Sen. Coburn's alternative plan, the Patients' Choice Act, would actually save states about $960 billion over ten years by enrolling most Medicaid recipients in high-quality private plans, regardless of preexisting conditions.
- "It is shocking that this Administration's promise to have the 'most open and transparent in history' is not as important as getting this [health care] bill to the President's desk by the end of the year," writes Heritage Senate relations expert Brian Darling. Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) are working behind closed doors to merge two competing health care "reform" bills before bringing a final bill to the Senate floor for a vote. The three lawmakers are empowered to make any changes they like without engaging in a public debate before the American people.
- The Senate Finance Committee's health care proposal makes a lot of promises, write Heritage legal experts Edwin Meese and Hans von Spakovsky. "But one thing the bill does not do is bring down the high cost of health care, which is driven in large measure by abusive tort litigation." Despite the President's promise to explore tort reform, not one of the proposals in the House or Senate implements any real reform. It may be telling that "the top contributor to President Obama's presidential campaign was the legal industry, whose donations came to more than $43 million."
Other Heritage work of note
- "Much has been made of several high-profile defections from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its steadfast opposition to [cap-and-trade] as well as Environmental Protection Agency efforts to do a regulatory end-run around Congress," writes Heritage energy policy expert Ben Lieberman. The Chamber's principled stance against harmful climate change legislation has angered some in Congress. In fact, House Financial Services Chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) went so far as to criticize the Chamber of Commerce for being "more like The Heritage Foundation then they are like an economic association" because of the "strong, very conservative ideology there." It's perhaps a testament to Heritage's effectiveness that lawmakers use us as a yardstick to measure other organizations' commitment to conservative principle.
In other news
- Medical marijuana providers and their patients may soon be protected from federal drug agents, according to new legal guidelines released by the Obama administration. This is a significant departure from the Bush administration's stricter enforcement stance.
- California is poised to become the first state to ban certain big-screen TVs that use what regulators deem to be "too much" electricity.
- White House Communications Director Anita Dunn sparked controversy recently when she listed Communist Chinese dictator Mao Tse-tung among her philosophical idols, attacked Fox News as "opinion journalism masquerading as news," and suggested that the White House controls the press.
- Facing budget cutbacks during the recession, schools across the country are extending unpaid leave for their employees. Many school districts are shortening the school year as a result, exactly when President Obama has called for more time in the classroom.
- The Associated Press suggests the current high jobless rate may become the "new normal," as many lost jobs may never be revived. This doesn't have to be the case: instead of restricting economic growth and job creation with new regulations, nationalizations, taxes and so forth, the government could step back and allow free enterprise to flourish.
- Proponents of same-sex "marriage" are asking the courts to make public the names of Washington State residents who signed a petition favoring a ballot referendum to defend traditional marriage. There is some cause for concern: gay-rights activists harassed donors to California's "Yes on 8" campaign, which favored traditional marriage.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage's website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.
- On Wednesday, October 21 at noon, author Craig Shirley will discuss his new book, Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign that Changed America. Heritage fellow Lee Edwards will host the event.
- On Wednesday, October 21 at 5:00 p.m., Heritage scholar and former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese will host the second annual Joseph Story lecture series featuring Professor John Harrison from the University of Virginia.
Amanda Reinecker is a writer for MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Nathaniel Ward, the Editor of MyHeritage.org, contributed to this report.
