In case you missed it - Mark Steyn: Global warming is so last century

The Obama administration is getting into the global-warming beads and kaftan just as everyone else is beginning to toss 'em into the recycling bin. Same with government automobiles: Been there, drove that – from Eastern Europe to Northern Ireland.

There's something weirdly parochial about Obama, the supposed "citizen of the world."

Jennifer Marohasy » A Climate Change Paradox

AUSTRALIA’S Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong, recently suggested that most of the global warming since 1960, about 85 percent, has happened in the oceans and that change in ocean heat content is thus the most appropriate measure of global warming.

But, calculating from first principles, according to this data the oceans have absorbed far less energy than the IPCC estimates for the impact of rising carbon dioxide levels. While the government data suggests a warming rate of 0.38 watts/ m2 the IPCC data suggests a warming rate of 3.6 watts/ m2 . This is a significant discrepancy of nearly 10:1 and needs to be resolved. If the oceans really are the major heat sink for the planet where is the rest of the energy going? Alternatively, is the error in the IPCC estimates.

Rasmussen Reports™: What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls

It will be interesting to watch how these critical issues are worked out and what impact they will have on voters’ views of the Congress. Right now, just 18% of voters say Congress is doing a good or excellent job, down from 23% in May.

Al Franken’s arrival will give Democrats a 60-seat majority in the Senate, strengthening their control of that body. They already have a sizable majority in the House to work with the new Democratic president. But 45% of voters say it’s better for the country if the White House and Congress are each run by a different political party. Twenty-seven percent (27%) disagree and say it’s better to have one political party running both branches of government, as is now the case.

As for Franken, 44% have an unfavorable opinion of the former “Saturday Night Live” comedy writer as he prepares to become the newest member of the United States Senate. Thirty-four percent (34%) have a favorable opinion.

Like those of Congress, Obama’s approval ratings have slipped a bit this week in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll. Americans definitely have mixed feelings about the president’s big policy initiatives. Just 42% now rate Obama good or excellent on economic issues, the lowest findings since he took office in January.