Yes, New Jersey, there is global warming
Last week, as expected, Christie followed up by vetoing a Democratic attempt to force Christie back into the initiative. But in his veto message, the former skeptic on global warming came out fully behind the belief that human beings have a role in warming the planet. This puts him at odds with all but one of the Republicans running for president, and pretty much the entire vocal base of the GOP.
Yes, New Jersey, there is global warming
Matt Katz, Inquirer Staff Writer
Earlier this year Gov. Christie broke ground in the politics of the environment by pulling the state out of a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Environmentalists expressed shock and awe. No other governor in any other state had done this before. Christie said the treaty simply wasn't effective.
Last week, as expected, Christie followed up by vetoing a Democratic attempt to force Christie back into the initiative. But in his veto message, the former skeptic on global warming came out fully behind the belief that human beings have a role in warming the planet. This puts him at odds with all but one of the Republicans running for president, and pretty much the entire vocal base of the GOP.
"While I acknowledge that the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are increasing, that climate change is real, that human activity plays a role in these changes and these changes are impacting our state, I simply disagree that RGGI is an effective mechanism for addressing global warming."
He says RGGI did not encourage energy producers to lower their use of carbon-based fuels. He uses a free-market, conservative argument to make his point: "Reduced emissions have occurred as a result of the increased use of natural gas, the decreased use of coal and a drop in total demand for electricity. In other words, the market -- and not RGGI -- has created incentives to reduce the use of carbon-based fuels."
Democratic Assemblyman John F. McKeon, chairman of the environment committee, will pursue an override of Christie's veto. He called the veto "a giant step backwards in our march towards a clean energy economy and the creation of thousands of clean jobs."
Comment removed.
Human beings cannot destroy the earth.....Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Global Warming, Santa Claus....— kelprod2- With each passing day the global warming fanatics are exposed as frauds, at least their assertion that human beings are causing it. Global warming, climate change, call it what you will has been going on since the planet began. It is no more a new phenomena than the fact that the media is an arm of the democrat party.— fgomarty
- Your use of the term "global warming" is all we need to know about your qualifications to comment. — n62
- no such thing as global warming— section707
- Exactly, because the scientifically correct term is "climate change". Global warming is an inaccurate descriptor that was grasped by the lay public. Hotter summers, colder winters, stronger storms, longer droughts, more floods...its all changing. — n62
- Climate change is real, but RGGI is ineffective policy.— palvar
- Global warming is part of the normal cycles of weather. Man-made warming is a fiction invented by the Left to justify further enslavement of the planet in order to enrich the Liberal Elite. Sit, beg, roll over, believe in global warming.— Beethoven987
- Yeah you're probably right, the vast majority of the earth's scientists base their conclusions on a political agenda. Smart. — n62
- N, Knowing some of the people who helped write the Climate Change legislation for Congress Waxman, I asked them why they used the term climate change rather than the "at the time" widespread global warming tag. They noted that since there was no proof of the manmade global warming claim they needed to use something that no one could argue against. Thus "climate change" which has been going on since the beginning of time. On a side note you may want to check some of the recent NASA study releases that show the rate of cooling to space is far greater than previously expected, minimizing some of the CO2 warming claims. — cb54
- There is something wrong with you people if you STILL keep drinking that Kool-Aid that thousand upon thousands of scientists AROUND THE GLOBE are somehow wrong about pollution's effects on the global climate...AT LEAST Governor Christie acknowledged the reality of climate change (what are you guys, like the Vatican, denying Galileo's claim that the earth revolves around the sun?!?!) though his veto makes it clear that he STILL cares more about big business than for our future.— lampreave
- whether you think global warming is true or false - can't we agree that pollution is bad and unhealthy? IMO just as inhaling smoke into ones body (via cigarettes) is now accepted as unhealthy to oneself I think it's obvious that putting billions of tons of pollution into the environment is bad.— Hunter S. T
- The current cycle of concurrent rises in temperature and CO2 levels has occurred several times over the last 400K years. Why would one think that this cycle, which started well before the Industrial Revolution, is caused by humans? Pollution can hurt the environment but do the right thing for the right reasons, not based on some erroneous interpretations of the data by some Nobel Prize wannabees.— 2ndNlong
- It kills me when people completely ignore all the facts that point towards a) our planet is warming at an unprecedented rate and b) this warming is made "worse" by human pollution in the atmosphere. Sure, climate change is cyclical, but we're speeding up the process. Most people that have a problem with the idea of climate change (aka global warming) haven't yet seperated the politics from the true nature of what's happening. There's nothing wrong with wanting a cleaner environment for our grandkids to enjoy...as long as you first strip it of all and any political agendas.— PatXMM
- what is an unprecedented rate? what is the 'normal' temperature of the earth suppose to be? speeding up the process? would the melting of glaciers millions of years ago that formed Great Lakes and cliffs in Fond DU LAc be considered speedy or slow? — uandwhosearmy
Reach him at mkatz@phillynews.com or 609-217-8355.
Follow Matt on Twitter: @mattkatz00. Reach Matt at mkatz@phillynews.com or 609-217-8355.
