Don't touch that thermostat

On Sunday, readers of The Washington Post found a case being made for a world without air conditioning.

"In a country that's among the world's highest greenhouse-gas emitters, air conditioning is one of the worst power-guzzlers," wrote Stan Cox, an author who has written "Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World (and Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer)."

"I told you so," replied Brian Sussman, author of "Climategate: A Veteran Meteorologist Exposes The Global Warming Scam."

"First it was the SUV, now it's your AC. Next it will be your dryer, then your flat-screen TV, and eventually the power company will have complete control of your furnace's thermostat in the winter," he said.

In "Climategate," Sussman warns readers about the coming Smart Grid, Smart Meters, Smart Thermostats and Energy Star appliances – which he says will allow unseen bureaucrats to regulate all of the appliances in America's homes.

"This is not fantasy," says Sussman, an award-winning television meteorologist, "This is reality. Smart Meters have already replaced the whirling, old-fashioned electric meters on the side of millions of houses in America – they monitor electricity usage minute-by-minute and can be read remotely. The remote-controlled Smart Thermostats are being installed as well and further enable bureaucratic control the temperature of your abode. The Smart Grid, which was mandated in the 2007 energy bill and funded with 'stimulus' money, is coming next. The grid will possess interactive broadband capabilities to further control all of the new-generation Energy Star appliances you will be forced to purchase – like your washer, dryer, water heater and even your flat-screen TV."

Sussman notes the pandering tone of the Washington Post piece.

"Look at the arguments presented in this story," says Sussman. "In a post-AC nation, we're told that 'Congress will adjourn for the summer, giving "tea partiers" the smaller government they seek,' or that on a hot summer evening we'll all trade the electrical stove for the barbecue and eat on the porch. Do the environmentalists and their media partners think Americans are that easy to fool?

"I live in California," Sussman adds. "On certain summer evenings it's illegal to have a barbecue. Guess we'll just have to stick to a salad."

In "Climategate," Sussman reveals that present energy shortages have been planned by environmentalists and instituted by the government. "Even if greenhouse emissions were a pollutant [Sussman contends they are not] we should have a plan in place for alternatives like nuclear and hydro power, as well as solar and wind. Instead we haven't commissioned the construction of a new nuclear plant in the U.S. since the '70s, we're tearing down hydroelectric dams, the federal government won't allow solar arrays to be built on federal land, and the environmentalists loathe wind power. We need a plan. Instead the only plan coming out of Washington is for us to use less energy. That's not a plan."

Sussman showed how the investigation clearing participants in the original Climategate e-mail scandal skirted the "science" cited to justify massive government intervention in industry, technology and individual lifestyle choices.

In "Climategate," published by WND Books, Sussman points out that global temperatures reached a peak during the 1930s and have been trending down ever since, in spite of the increasing amount of human-generated "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere.

"Climategate" focuses on the University of East Anglia scandal, in which e-mail exchanges between many of the world's most prominent climate scientists reveal coordinated efforts to discredit scientific critics and to hide empirical data that undermined the global-warming theory.

The theory posits that so-called "greenhouse gases," particularly carbon dioxide, are building up in the atmosphere as a result of human activities such as burning gasoline and coal. According to the theory, the greenhouse-gas buildup is causing global temperatures to rise, which eventually will lead to a series of environmental calamities.

The e-mails were hacked from the Norwich, England, school's Climatic Research Unit, which had previously served as a main source of information on global warming for the United Nations.

Previous stories:

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'Climategate' author on 'Coast to Coast AM'

Confirmed! Global warming is 'settled' – as a scam

Coal company to EPA: Explain 'greenhouse' flaws

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Did EPA check global-warming claims?

Even colleagues want 'warming' scientist investigated

Son of Climategate! Scientist says feds manipulated data

Is world uniting in Copenhagen?

Copenhagen all about 'American money'

Famous weather scientist: Climategate 'tip of iceberg'