Texas Governor rebukes Global Warming; Storms ahead with New Coal Plants

AUSTIN — Despite warnings from President Bush about global warming — and in the face of what many experts and even industry leaders describe as overwhelming scientific consensus on the issue — top leaders in Texas have continued to question the validity of man-made climate change.

“Absolutely,” Gov. Rick Perry replied when asked recently by the Star-Telegram whether there is scientific doubt that human activity causes global warming. “I am not going to put the state of Texas in a competitive economic disadvantage on some science that may or may not be correct.”

The global-warming debate has exploded in prominence during the legislative session, especially against the backdrop of TXU’s controversial plan to build 11 coal-fired plants that environmentalists say will contribute dramatically to greenhouse gases in Texas. Other utilities also propose new facilities.

Perry and other key Republicans have expressed general support for those utility plans even as they have rejected the validity of global warming or sidestepped the question.

Star-Telegram (Dallas, TX)