Lawmakers Seek Different Opinions on Climate Change

None by KCPW

Sutherland Institute to Offer Skeptic's View

(KCPW News) A committee of legislators will get a different view of climate change tomorrow from Paul Mero, director of the conservative Sutherland Institute. Mero is not a scientist, but State Senator Scott Jenkins invited him to add some balance to the committee's discussion on global warming:

"We had the Governor's report last month, so this is just a continuation," says Jenkins. "We're trying to look at every side of the issue."

During last month's Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee, lawmakers received a summary of science reports on climate change compiled by the Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Council. The report warns Utah will only get hotter and drier as a result of global warming, and it blames man-made pollution for contributing to the problem.

The Sutherland Institute, by contrast, has distributed a report to thousands of Utahns emphasizing that scientists disagree on the causes and effects of climate change. Governor Jon Huntsman has accepted the council's report and says he's hopeful lawmakers who take the Sutherland Institute's view on climate change will be open to making changes:

"Eventhough we might be coming to it from different points of view, I think we can all sit down around a table - including members of the legislature - and agree there are certain priorities that need to be tackled in this state," says Huntsman. "Air quality is one of them. And economic vitality - which this is all about - is another."

Huntsman says he can do some things to address climate change unilaterally, but will need legislative approval for bigger issues like setting emissions standards for coal-burning power plants. Some of those proposals could surface when the Legislature convenes in January.

The Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee meets on Capitol Hill tomorrow morning at 8:30.

Click here to read the scientific report from the Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change.

Click here to read The Sutherland Institute's Report on Global Warming.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom, Legislative Coverage, and 2007 Legislative Coverage. Copyright 2008 KCPW