Obama to push harder for climate change deal at Copenhagen | The Australian

Asked what impact Ms Merkel's speech might have on the US debate, Senator James Inhofe, the top Republican on the committee looking at the climate legislation, said: “None whatsoever.”

Democrat Ben Nelson was similarly blunt, answering the same question with a simple “no”.

[We're saved! Actress attempts to make Canada cooler by helping build a ramshackle dam in Indonesia!]

As negotiators meet in Barcelona for the final round of talks before December’s critical UN climate summit in Copenhagen - our activists and Ms. Laurent are tackling climate change at the frontline of rainforest destruction by damming the industrial drainage of carbon-rich peatlands in Indonesia.

Ban Wants More Than $100 Billion/Yr for Climate Change

With the U.S. federal deficit completely out of control, the economy in a steady decline, and a populace which is increasingly skeptical of the claims of environmentalists, Americans have good reason to ask why they should be asked to solve a problem which they do not think exists by giving money which they do not have to aid countries that are not grateful for what they have already been offered.

Washington Sketch: Republicans give global-warming hearing the cold shoulder - washingtonpost.com

But Madam Chairman, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), was not inclined to give Voinovich even enough time to finish his statement. "You finished your 12 minutes," she informed him before he was done.

"Can I ask for another three minutes?" Voinovich asked.

"I'll give you another minute," Boxer countered. "I've got colleagues that just don't have time."
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Later, calling on Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) for a statement, she offered: "Take as much time as you'll consume, because we don't have anybody else here."
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Eventually, even the Democrats left, except for Boxer. "I guess at this point I'm going to just sit here and wait till they show up," she said, consulting her watch. The hearing had begun three hours earlier.

"I will just sit here for a bit," she said later. "Talk among yourselves."

Boxer checked her BlackBerry and rearranged her papers. C-SPAN filmed the empty seats. "Chairman Boxer (D-CA) is waiting for Republican members to come to this meeting," the network flashed on screen. After 15 minutes of silence, the lone senator in the room tapped the gavel. "We're going to stand in recess," she said.