July 28, 2003: Senator Calls Global Warming ‘Greatest Hoax Ever Perpetrated on the American People’

During a debate on global warming, Senator James Inhofe (R-Ok) argues that studies attempting to link greenhouse gases to higher global temperatures are not based on sound science. He says that environmentalists—who he describes as “the most powerful, most highly financed lobby in Washington”—have staged the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” He also insists that if the Senate were to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the US economy would suffer “serious harm.” [US Congress, 7/28/2003; BBC, 12/11/2003]