Dec 20 - The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio


Sen. Sherrod Brown isn't ready to back the current Senate climate-change bill.

But that isn't because the Ohio Democrat doubts scientific evidence that man-made greenhouse-gas emissions cause global warming.

Brown has not been swayed by a scandal involving e-mails stolen from a British climate institute that global-warming skeptics say show that some scientists are exaggerating the threat posed by greenhouse gases.

But a Dispatch survey of most Ohio members of Congress shows a key difference in viewpoints: Many Republicans think there is more than one valid stance on the science of global warming and are more skeptical than Democrats about whether there is evidence that warming is at least partially man-made and a major threat.

At the recent international meeting on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark, scientists and world leaders said the case proving climate change is clear, and unclouded by the scandal.

Brown says a bill is needed -- he just wants Ohio consumers and businesses dependent on emissions-producing, coal-generated power to be compensated for the costs of moving to a cleaner-energy economy.

"A wealth of peer-reviewed, scientific studies indicate that climate change is both a natural and manmade hazard," Brown said. "But any bill to address climate change must be a jobs bill. That means a bill that protects and creates U.S. jobs by investing in domestic manufacturing and the clean-energy industry."

Many Ohio Republicans and Democrats share Brown's concerns about the effect on Ohio's economy. However, Democrats tend to stress the potential for "green jobs"; Republicans emphasize that attempts to limit emissions amount to an "energy tax."

Democrat Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, who voted against the House climate-change bill, declined to respond to Dispatch questions about his beliefs on global warming.

The Dispatch asked Ohio lawmakers: Do you believe that global warming is a scientifically proven fact? And if so, do you believe global warming is a man-made phenomenon? Is it such a serious threat that legislation is needed to mandate reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases in the U.S.?

GOP Rep. Pat Tiberi of Genoa Township doesn't think there is a consensus among scientists about whether global warming is proven.

"If there's one thing I've learned from the climate-change debate, it's that I am not a climate scientist. I have had the privilege of hearing testimony from some of the top climatologists in the world," Tiberi said.

"In addition, I've had conversations with many different members of the scientific community in central Ohio offering a full spectrum of opinions. This is why I believe Americans should be skeptical of any politician who claims to have all of the answers."

House Minority Leader John Boehner, a West Chester Republican, said his party wants an "all of the above" approach to energy that includes nuclear power and drilling for more domestic oil. Although he doesn't doubt climate change, Boehner isn't sure how much is man-made, and he, too, says the economic fallout from the current House bill would be ruinous for states such as Ohio.

"History has proven climate change to be real," Boehner said. "The question is, however, how much do humans contribute to it, and what is the proper way to deal with it?"

Attitudes about the validity of climate change seem to fall largely along partisan lines, in Congress and across the U.S.

When the House approved a climate-change bill in June mandating a 17 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020 from 2005 levels, the vote was 219-212, with eight Republicans voting in favor and 44 Democrats voting no.

All eight Ohio GOP House members voted against the bill. The only Ohio Democrats to vote no were Wilson and Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Cleveland. Kucinich thought the bill didn't go far enough.

Most countries agree that warming is a serious problem, according to the Pew Research Center. However, the percentage of U.S. residents who share that view is among the lowest in the world, at 44 percent, compared with 60 percent or more in countries such as France, Spain, Germany and Japan, Pew found.

But sentiment in the U.S. is divided by political ideology. Sixty-six percent of liberals and 30 percent of conservatives say warming is a very serious threat, Pew found.

Not all Republicans are skeptics of global warming, even if they don't embrace mandatory emissions cuts.

Sen. George V. Voinovich, a senior Republican on the Senate Environment Committee, "believes that climate change is global in its reach," a spokeswoman said.

But the Ohioan thinks the problem is "economy-wide in its breadth," spokeswoman Jennifer Scoggins said. "The senator has made it clear that strict reduction requirements should be preceded by significant investment and deployment of advanced clean-energy technologies, including nuclear power and coal plants with carbon capture and sequestration capabilities."

jriskind@dispatch.com

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