Washington – Climate change is heating the Earth and also warming relations between Democrat John Kerry and Republican Newt Gingrich.
Kerry, a Massachusetts senator and the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, debated Gingrich, a former House speaker and a potential presidential nominee, in a friendly exchange Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Both men have new books out on the environment.
The two argued for nearly two hours about whether the government should cap greenhouse-gas emissions or whether tax breaks would encourage businesses to do so.
Kerry said no environmental crisis has ever been solved without government intervention. “That’s like saying, ‘Barry Bonds, go investigate steroids,’ or letting Enron take control of pensions,” said Kerry.
Gingrich, the former House speaker, said a government cap amounts to more regulation and more lawsuits. “America changes much faster in the marketplace. We can move very rapidly if we’re moving there as consumers,” he said.
Kerry asked what Gingrich would say to Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., who calls global warming a hoax.
“My message, I think, is that the evidence is sufficient that we should move toward the most effective possible steps to reduce carbon loading in the atmosphere,” Gingrich replied.
