Press Room

In their most serious language ever, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated today that the failure to curtail emissions "could threaten society with food shortages, refugee crises, flooding of major cities and entire island nations, mass extinction of plants and animals, and a climate so drastically altered it might become dangerous for people to work or play outside during the hottest times of the year." The panel warned that society is not responding quickly enough to mitigate the effects rapid changes in weather patterns will wreak on human existence.

Enter former Administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Christine Todd Whitman, who says the U.S. government needs to reevaluate its own approach to climate change before instructing developing nations on their policies.

Speaking on The Costa Report, Whitman addressed public confusion as to whether climate change is real - as well as the degree to which human activity contributes to the phenomena, - "If 97% of scientists say that it's happening, then I think we can be pretty comfortable [in saying] that it's happening," she said.  According to Whitman, the issue lies in overstating the extent to which human beings are the cause of climate change, "[Environmentalists] speak in absolutes," she explained, adding, "They say humans cause [climate change]. Well, we don't. We just are making it worse."

Whitman continued, "We, as Americans, tend to focus on what happens here in this country, - [but] Mother nature does not care about geo-political boundaries." She warns that the United States cannot expect the rest of the world to accept advice on environmental policy when the U.S. does not have a national energy plan, or stated objectives for reducing harmful emissions. Whitman concludes, "We're not in a position to tell people what to do if we're not willing to take steps ourselves."

To hear the full interview with Christine Todd Whitman, visit www.thecostareport.com