This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, May 5th, 2011. I'm Caleb Brown. Public science

means public choice. That is, when you place science in the hands of government, problems

normally associated with government creep into science.

Pat Michaels is author of the new Cato book Climate coup.

He argues that climate change in recent years is basically unmeasurable, so why all the

fuss of a regulating vast parts of the economy.

He spoke at a forum for the book yesterday.

On June 26, 2009, the Waxman-Markey Bill passed the House of Representatives it squeaked by by three votes,

and it would reduce emissions 3% below 2005 levels by 2012, 16 by 2020, 42 by 2030, and 83 by 2050.

Now this seems benign, I guess, until you realize what this means to your life.

These are US per capita carbon dioxide emissions and over here is

year. This is where it was in 2005.

We've had a decline in per capita emissions in part

in recent years because of the discovery of shale gas.

And by the year 2050, you will be allowed the per capita emissions of the average American in 1867.

Now, that will require some intrusion in your life.

What will it do? This is the amount of warming. This is using

the United Nations 2.5 degree sensitivity model for doubled carbon dioxide.

We could debate about this a lot, but that would be a different subject.

If every nation of the world does what it's doing now and continues on the emissions pathways that they are on.

The planet would warm 1.58 degrees between 1990 and 2050.

If Waxman-Markey were in the U.S. at 2050 levels, beginning immediately, the amount of warming

...