Bill Chameides

A continuing series on what folks in the public sphere have been saying about climate change this week.

Climate change gets a re-do in Britain, acceptance and defeat on “Colbert,” and a hearing at John Kerry’s confirmation hearing for Secretary of State.

“I got it wrong on climate change -- it’s far, far worse.”
-- Nicholas Stern, of the Stern Review, the 2006 report on the economics of climate change commissioned by the British government

“America beat Tojo, we crushed Hitler, we put a man on the moon, but incrementally reducing CO2 emissions? That sounds like a lot of work. And how can fight an enemy we can’t see? I mean, get out of here, get, get out of here, carbon! (swats at the air) Did I hit it? I don’t know. So it’s high-time we stop trying to solve the problem and resign ourselves to each day getting worse. … Give up. Crawl into bed with a cheesecake and wait for death.”
-- Stephen Colbert, “The Colbert Report,” responding to a string of conservative pundits saying publicly that global warming is too difficult to tackle (see video below)

“Working together, we’ve achieved a great deal. But the State Department and USAID have a lot of unfinished business, from Afghanistan to nonproliferation to climate change.”
-- Outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, introducing John Kerry at his nomination hearing

“American foreign policy is also defined by food security and energy security, humanitarian assistance, the fight against disease and the push for development, as much as it is by any single counter terrorism initiative. It is defined by leadership on life threatening issues like climate change.”
-- Senator John Kerry (D-MA), now the Secretary of State, at his confirmation hearing

“Kerry has also been a strong advocate for U.S. action on climate change. While these discussions of a legislative solution have proved to be pointless since the Senate defeated global warming legislation in 2009, the topic remains a high priority for the international community. … I expect Kerry will spend a significant amount of his time supporting the United Nations with a revived Kyoto Treaty to combat climate change, which would be devastating to every facet of our economy.”
-- Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), in a statement explaining his vote against Kerry as Secretary of State

Note: Kerry was confirmed by the Senate, 94-3, on Tuesday with Senator Inhofe casting one of the dissenting votes.

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