We Make Things Up: YOU Pay

On the heels of news [subscription required] that Barack Obama intends to further cripple the economy with draconian new regulations on coal comes yet another example of fraudulent data used to fan "climate change" hysteria. 

In John Hinderaker's words, "A prominent advocate for the endangered polar bear theory has just admitted to an actual scientist that he made the whole thing up". The following "clarification" will appear as a footnote in the next statement issued by said advocate's group:

As part of past status reports, the PBSG [i.e., the Polar Bear Specialist Group --ed] has traditionally estimated a range for the total number of polar bears in the circumpolar Arctic. Since 2005, this range has been 20-25,000. It is important to realize that this range never has been an estimate of total abundance in a scientific sense, but simply a qualified guess given to satisfy public demand. It is also important to note that even though we have scientifically valid estimates for a majority of the subpopulations, some are dated. Furthermore, there are no abundance estimates for the Arctic Basin, East Greenland, and the Russian subpopulations. Consequently, there is either no, or only rudimentary, knowledge to support guesses about the possible abundance of polar bears in approximately half the areas they occupy. Thus, the range given for total global population should be viewed with great caution as it cannot be used to assess population trend over the long term. [bold added by John Hinderaker]

Even if these numbers weren't fabricated, it would be wrong for the federal government to dictate how (or whether) we can generate electricity. The fact that Barack Obama's plan will (at best) make thirty-nine percent of our electricity more expensive merely underscores the hazards of having the government being in charge of things outside its proper scope: Our liberty is forfeit and even the most benevolent gang in power can be wrong. But even that best-case scenario is far from what we have now, as John Kerry's recent rhetorical question, "What's the worst that can happen?" shows.

-- CAV