Yesterday, the White House released an “Open Letter” on President Bush’s views on climate change. A portion of the letter argued Bush has “consistenly” acknowledged “humans are contributing” to global warming:
Yet on three occasions last year, Bush claimed there was still a “debate” among scientists over whether global warming is manmade or natural:
– “I think we have a problem on global warming. I think there is a debate about whether it’s caused by mankind or whether it’s caused naturally, but it’s a worthy debate. It’s a debate, actually, that I’m in the process of solving…” <7/6/06>
– “There is a debate over whether it’s manmade or naturally caused.” <6/26/06>
– “First of all, the globe is warming. The fundamental debate — is it manmade or natural?” <3/29/06>
The “fundamental debate” ended long ago among climate scientists. Last week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — a group consisting of the world’s foremost climatologists — issued a report that represents “history’s most definitive statement of scientific consensus on climate change.” Its main findings: global warming is “unequivocal” and human activity is the main driver, “very likely” causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/08/bush-quotes-on-warming/