I was delighted to see self-described "global warming agnostic" Charles Krauthammer endorse a global treaty on climate change the other day on Fox. We can mark this down as progress since Mr. Krauthammer has done about all that he can do to undermine the public's confidence in the reality of climate change.
Below is a video of Mr. Krauthammer endorsing an international compact, but don't watch it until you first read his comments dismissing climate science before he switches gears.
"What they tell you is that you should be scared of what is happening today. Of course if it is very cold in the winter, they blame it here in the Northeast, they blame it on global warming. And that the report it says is that the summers are hotter and the winters are generally shorter and warmer. Any scientific theory that explains everything explains nothing. And no matter what happens, in climate which is unpleasant -- the word for that is weather -- it is attributed to global warming. If we continue with global warming in the Northeast, we are going to freeze to death."
Strangely, Mr. Krauthammer quickly changes course, endorsing a climate treaty, which is weird, right?
"If we could have a pact with the other countries in which everyone would reduce their emissions, I would sign on."
Great! I hope to see you in Paris in 2015, Charles, when world leaders will gather to hammer out a deal. We can share a croissant to celebrate.
For those not following Mr. Krauthammer's evolving views, here's a recap. In his Feb. 21 op-ed column, "The Myth of 'Settled Science', " he lent credence to the fallacy that warming has stopped. In fact, studies have shown that while the rate of the increase of the average global surface temperatures has slowed, oceans continue to warm. The notion that we have had a warming "pause" has been debunked by several of the world's most respected scientists and institutions, including the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the British National Weather Service.
Well, we all make mistakes.
But in the same column, Krauthammer said the link between extreme weather events and climate change has not been established with certainty. He is wrong. Again. In fact, the National Climate Assessment, which came out on Tuesday, describes in great detail just how climate change is affecting the country now. If Mr. Krauthammer hasn't read about the report, he can look at his newspaper 's website to read a great summary by James Samenow.