Global Warming Debate Dominated by "Overheated Rhetoric" Says GOP Presidential candidate John Cox

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, Feb. 5, 2007

Republican presidential candidate John Cox today called a recent report on Global Warming "Overblown, overheated and politically motivated."

While Cox, the first announced Republican candidate of the 2008 race, believes the Earth is getting warmer, he questions the motivations of those making the case that warming is man-made.

"Scientists who issued the recent UN panel that issued a rather frightening report were all appointed by governments, many of whom are clearly biased in favor of blaming human beings for warming the planet," he said. "While there is little question the world is growing warmer, there is a lot of doubt remaining as to whether we are causing it."

"There are scientists on both sides of this debate, but everyone agrees on cleaning the air," he said.

Cox notes that past ice ages and rises and dips in CO2 levels occurred without humans to interfere with these natural cycles.

"Fears of catastrophe have a way of being overblown for political gain. Look who benefits when you listen to this debate," he said. "It's hard to say which is getting hotter, the Earth or the overheated rhetoric about Global Warming."

Cox believes in cleaner air, and recently released a plan to encourage energy independence by 2025. But he cautions those who turn to the government for all of our environmental answers. Instead, Cox believes the free market is a better way to create a cleaner environment.

"Government is not, and cannot be, the sole answer here. We need to give incentives to the private market, so it can work efficiently to solve the problems government cannot. Electric cars and clean coal technology are good things to pursue. However, we need economic incentives and the free market to do this, not big government," he said. "We also need China and India to step up, since they are expanding their rate of pollution much faster than the West."

"We need to be diversifying away from fossil fuels, for not only environmental reasons, but for our future national security" he said. "But government-mandated, draconian dictates that drastically raise energy prices for average Americans will just shut down our economy and will not, in the end, make our environment any cleaner, since poorer nations are allowed to continue to pollute under agreements like the Kyoto Treaty."

"Let's stop the hysterics, agree we should protect the environment by empowering the free market, and move on."

John H. Cox, 51, is the former president of the Cook County (IL) Republican Party. He is a CPA, real estate broker, attorney and investment advisor. John Cox lives in Chicago, IL with his wifeand four daughters. For more information, visit www.cox2008.com