The Remarkable Conversion of Bush, Harper and Howard

The Three Stooges have gone green? One by one Harpo, Bush and now Howard have claimed to embrace the need to arrest global warming.

Is the Holy Trinity of global warming heel draggers really doing a huge u-turn and, if so, how did this emerge, out of the blue and all at once?

Harpo we can explain. He draped himself in green when he realized his political future hung in the balance. He did it because he found himself forced to do it and that explains why he's skulking about in the corners quietly trying to protect his precious tar sands. It's like a heroin addict claiming he's gone clean but hiding his stash in the dark recesses of the furnace room.

Howard? Again it's his political future in the balance. He's trailing badly going into an election for a fifth term and so he's scurrying about like a little rat saying he gets it.

Bush? He's playing the odds and writing the script that Harpo and Howard are using. It's called damage control. Say you get it, proclaim that action is needed and then dodge, stall and hope that you can get away with policies so compromised as to be nearly meaningless. Say anything, do what you damned well please. That's been the tried and true tactic of these right-wing thugs for years.

The proof of their charade lies in one aspect of greenhouse gas emissions they don't want to talk about - caps. Caps, ceilings on total permitted emissions, are the essential first step to GHG reductions. These guys steadfastly reject caps, shilling instead for "intensity based" reductions which will actually allow total emissions to continue increasing.

They're all playing the same scam even as time is running out.