More Americans believe in haunted houses than global warming : A scary Halloween tale.

...and global warming due to human activity? The overall numbers have declined from 47% to 36%. To put this in perspective, a Gallup poll found that 37% of Americans believe that houses can be haunted.

The Other MIT Global Warming Guy » The Foundry

...there’s an MIT professor whose work on the topic may also prove very influential – Richard Lindzen, the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at MIT.

President Obama and Dr. Lindzen could scarcely be further apart on the issue. The President has described global warming as a dire crisis and has stated that combating it will be a high priority in his administration. On the other hand, Lindzen is perhaps the most influential of a growing number of scientists who dissent from such alarmism. Lindzen sees a wide gulf between the not-so-alarming scientific realities of warming and the apocalyptic scenarios that have catapulted it into the headlines. He fears that global warming policies based on such hype would do more harm than good. He has also spoken out against the attempts to intimidate and marginalize dissenters such as himself, something that President Obama unfortunately engaged in during his speech.

Marketing Campaign Suggests [hysteria] Is Sexy - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com

[Supermodel] Ms. Baker said she became inspired to take action when she saw the effect of global warming during a photo shoot on top of glaciers in Iceland for the leather and suede retailer Danier.

“I was in such shock,” she said. “I want to do something to make people notice. If everyone does little things here and there – you don’t have to go crazy with it – I think it will help a lot.”

Sen. Boxer on “Telling the Whole Story on Global Warming” plus the witness list for her marathon hearings this week on the clean energy bill « Climate Progress

You’ll certainly want to tune in (at the EPW website) for first hearing Tuesday, 9:30 ET to hear:

* Energy Secretary Steven Chu;
* Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood;
* Interior Secretary Ken Salazar;
* U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson; and
* Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff.

Wellinghoff in particular may be the best Obama appointment you never heard of, who said in April of new nuclear and coal plants: “We may not need any, ever.” I’ll repost the full witness list for Wednesday and Thursday at the end.