Newt Rips Climate Bill With Silly, Scary Commercial

Science & Technology (alternative energy)

Once upon a time, Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker, sat on a couch with current Speaker Nancy Pelosi. They made a video together calling for strong action on global warming and energy. Now, when the Congress is preparing to vote on the House climate and energy bill, known as ACES, Gingrich's American Solutions group has put out a TV ad calling climate action an "energy tax" that will cripple our economy.

Newt, the creator of the slogan "Drill, Baby, Drill," has certainly changed his tune. The video uses imagery of days gone by to show, I guess, that climate action will take us backwards. It also uses the current economic crisis as an excuse for inaction on the largest environmental problem we've ever faced.

Here's a couple of facts to banish the ignorance:

-The Congressional Budget Office analysis of ACES shows that the bill will likely cause the average American family less than a postage stamp a day.

-Many groups, including Green for All, have shown that clean energy will create hundreds of thousands of new green jobs.

-Last week, the White House released a report that found that climate change is already creating changes in the United States by threatening the Southwest with heat waves, the Atlantic with stronger storms and the Midwest with drought. Given confirmation from the highest levels of government, there is no excuse for inaction.