Global Warming Apathy, Pelosi on Oil Drilling and Government Health Care
A new survey suggests that public concern about global warming is on the decline.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reverses her opposition to a vote on offshore oil exploration.
Health officials in Great Britain decide that the government should refuse to pay for lifesaving health care if the treatment prescribed would be too costly.
More issues in the news: listen to the CEI Weekly Podcast here.
1. ENVIRONMENT
A new survey suggests that public concern about global warming is on the decline.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on why global warming is neither a hoax nor a crisis:
“There are a lot of things we can do – the so-called ‘no regrets’ policies – that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and/or create a global economy more resilient to change that would be beneficial even if global warming doesn’t turn out to be a problem. However, these policies are ignored by the global warming industry because they require a little lateral thinking and don’t create massive bureaucracies and central control. Meanwhile, there are many who deride such policies because they see global warming as a hoax. The truth is it isn’t a hoax, not is it a crisis. It’s a risk to be managed. So let’s manage it!’”
2. ENERGY
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reverses her opposition to a vote on offshore oil exploration.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Energy Policy Myron Ebell on why action is needed in Congress:
“For too long the federal government has tied the hands of state governments that wish to permit oil and natural gas leasing in their adjacent offshore zones. Congress should remove the moratoria on offshore gas production and share the federal royalties with the States that decide to allow offshore production, just as they share the royalties from production on federal lands with the States.”
3. HEALTH
Health officials in Great Britain decide that the government should refuse to pay for lifesaving health care if the treatment prescribed would be too costly.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Fellow Doug Bandow on the mentality of the National Health Service in the UK:
“There are trade-offs every where, we all know, including for health care. How much do you spend to provide how much treatment to which payments? These decisions often are not easy. But at least in a decentralized, private system lots of people are making those decisions. Nationalized systems centralize the decisions over life and death, and hand them to politicians and bureaucrats. The National Health System in Great Britain is refreshingly honest. If we don’t think it’s worth the money to save your life, tough. It’s the public interest, you know!”
More issues in the news: Listen to the new CEI Weekly Podcast here.