An econometric study by a Johns Hopkins School of Public Health professor, Harvey Brenner, summarized in November’s EM, journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, looks at how many people would die prematurely if US coal were replaced for power generation by higher-cost fuels. That would be the effect of such bills as the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act, which the Energy Information Administration estimated would displace 78% of US coal-based electricity generation. Dr. Brenner found that the reduction in household income and unemployment caused by the higher costs would result in 195,000 more premature deaths each year. This is because of the very clear link between income and health.

The media constantly bombards us with the estimate of 150,000 deaths globally each year caused by global warming. This is in itself a ludicrously inflated figure, as it ascribes far too many malaria deaths to global warming when the causes of increased malaria are much more complex. I wonder whether the press will pay any attention to the finding that just the tiniest step along the road to “solving” global warming would kill more Americans than global warming kills worldwide. I can hear the crickets chirp now.