Some Progress On Climage Change

By Bristol Herald Courier Editorial Board

Published: June 6, 2008

THUMBS UP TO:

Getting serious about climate change
The U.S. Senate tackled climate change this week – debating a bill sponsored by Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. The bill would have instituted a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions similar to the one that has reduced levels of sulfur dioxide pollution in this country.
Supporters mustered 48 votes for the bill and another six senators, including John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, sent letters indicating they would have voted for it if they had been in town. Because support fell short of the level needed to halt a filibuster, the bill died Friday.
It might seem unusual to salute legislation that didn’t make it, particularly a bill with some notable flaws. However, this is the closest lawmakers have come to addressing the politically charged, but vitally important, issue of climate change. Look for it to take center stage in the next administration, no matter who wins.

Corker’s work for planet Earth
Kudos to Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., for his efforts to improve the Warner-Lieberman bill rather than reflexively rejecting it – as some in his party are prone to do on the entire subject of our warming planet. It took courage for Corker to stand on the Senate floor and speak these words: “I choose not to debate the science. I accept the fact that we as a country and we as a world need to address this issue.”
In certain wings of the GOP, such a statement amounts to heresy. Yet, Corker believes the nation must reduce carbon dioxide emissions. By his own account, he’s spent the past 17 months investigating the best way to accomplish that goal, and he remains unconvinced that the cap-and-trade system proposed under Warner-Lieberman is best. Corker argues that the proposal creates a new bureaucracy with too much control over the nation’s economy. We tend to agree. A carbon tax is a far more transparent approach than the hidden taxes contained in the cap-and-trade proposal. We look forward to Corker’s future input on this matter.

Fruit juice findings
A new study by researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine disputes the notion that fruit juice consumption plays a leading role in childhood obesity. The study, published in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, found children who consume a modest daily amount of juice are less likely to be overweight than their peers. The kids in the study sipped on the amount of juice found in a single small juice box.
The little juice drinkers consumed more of the vitamins C and B6, potassium, riboflavin, magnesium, iron and folate. Their diets also contained less fat and less added sugar, and they ate more whole fruit than non juice drinkers. It seems likely that parents who offer their children juice – as opposed to soda or faux fruit drinks – are more tuned in to nutrition in general.

THUMBS DOWN TO:

Summer’s early arrival
Summer is still more than two weeks away, but the region has been sweltering in unseasonable heat since Thursday. The heat and humidity is approaching dangerous levels. Actual temperatures are in the 90s and the heat index is near 100. The smart choice is to curtail activities during the heat of the day and to check on the elderly and infirm, particularly those without air conditioning.
Hot, sunny days also increase ground-level ozone, which makes it hard (even dangerous) to breathe. Ozone levels are forecast to be moderate today – not too bad, but potentially problematic for folks with pre-existing lung or heart conditions.
The early heat wave is predicted to moderate next week, but it could portend a long, hot summer.