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Australia Prime Minister Labeled as a Global Warming Skeptic

Australia's Prime Minister, John Howard, is being labeled by the media as a climate skeptic following the publication of a report today calling global warming a "natural phenomenon". Howard has already been under fire for taking to long to respond to climate change, which will certainly be a key issue come this November's elections. Although Howard said he did not agree with the report, he also said that his political opponents are seeking to mold a planet into "hating the Australian coal industry".

The global warming report was published by four governmental lawmakers in Howard's Party who sit on Parliament's Science Committee, two of whom are former ministers. The report cites that global warming is a natural  phenomenon on other planets in the solar system, including Mars, Jupiter, Triton, Pluto and Neptune (all of which just so happen to not support life). They report stated it is a natural phenomenon for planets with fluid envelopes to have a variable climate and that global warming, which takes place on half the planets of our solar system at any given time "has nothing to do with human activities".

The report was issued in response to a recent cross-party Parliamentary report recommending the government to fund carbon storage projects in sight of increased global warming. However, Science Committee Chairman, Petro Georgiou, spoke out saying his colleagues were ill-informed and that a link between increased gas emissions and higher temperatures is certainly "convincing" to the scientific community. Other people were quick to scorn the report, including Labor Party environment spokesperson, Peter Garret who asked Prime Minister Howard, "What planet are these government MP's on?".

To give some credit to Howard, he has announced plans to introduce legislation to mitigate global warming and climate change. His critics, however, are quick to point out that he has only come forth with this agenda because polls show that 8 out of 10 Australians are concerned about global warming, and elections are coming up. At any rate, Australia is still the world's largest exporter of coal, which certainly makes you wonder.

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