WASHINGTON - May 26 - This weekend marks the opening of "The Day After Tomorrow," the highly anticipated Hollywood action film that spotlights global warming and its potentially devastating effects on the earth’s climate. Although the movie dramatizes the reality of climate change, the greater distortion is that the Bush administration has denied the scientific consensus on global warming and has taken no steps to curb global warming pollution.

"The real fiction about global warming is coming from the Bush administration," said Dan Becker, Washington Director, Sierra Club Global Warming program. "When the makers of a movie about global warming get their facts wrong, the worst that can happen is you're out 9 bucks. But when the Bush administration ignores the science, the results can be disastrous."

Right now, there are responsible, cost-effective solutions to the problem of global warming. But the Bush administration is failing to act on them and continues to put its head in the sand regarding global warming.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that greenhouse gas emissions "have contributed substantially to the observed warming over the last 50 years.' Grim predictions of sea level rise and the spread of infectious disease raised the issue of global warming in the minds of many Americans. Scientists now are becoming alarmed that these predictions are proving to be eerily accurate - with tangible evidence of the danger global warming can cause. Last summer, a record heat wave broiled Europe, causing billions of dollars in damages in crop failure, livestock deaths, and wildfires and contributing to the deaths of over 19,000 people. Shifting climate patterns have caused tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever to appear in more temperate climates, such as North America. Glaciers which have remained frozen for millennia have begun to melt at alarming rates, with the potential to cause uncontrolled rise in sea levels.

The Bush administration has a history of missed opportunities and broken promises on global warming. In March, 2001 the Bush administration broke its campaign pledge to cut global warming pollution from power plants. The same month, the Bush administration announced that it was withdrawing from the Kyoto Treaty on global warming. In May 2002, the Bush administration weakened existing energy-efficiency standards for air conditioners that would have eliminated the need for 48 additional power plants. In addition, the Bush administration has proposed an energy plan that would result in increased heat-trapping emissions from power plants, vehicles, and industries.

The good news is that we have solutions today to curb global warming emissions. Using existing gas-saving technology, we can make cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs go farther on a gallon of gas. We can start replacing dirty, coal fired power plants with clean, renewable energy sources like wind, solar power and cleaner burning natural gas. Finally, we can use energy efficient technology to substantially cut the energy use of lighting, heating, cooling and industrial processes. Taking these steps can curtail global warming and ensure a safer future and cleaner environment for our communities and children.

"All in all, the Bush administration should get two thumbs down for its performance on global warming," said Becker. "The movie exaggerates and compresses the effects of global warming for dramatic purposes. The Bush administration ignores the science of global warming for political purposes."

###