[Stardust]

Evidence of Global Cooling

By Brit Hume

Tuesday we told you about several areas around the planet experiencing record cold and snowpack — in the face of all the predictions of global warming.

Now there is word that all four major global temperature tracking outlets have released data showing that temperatures have dropped significantly over the last year. California meteorologist Anthony Watts says the amount of cooling ranges from 65-hundredths of a degree Centigrade to 75-hundreds of a degree.

That is said to be a value large enough to erase nearly all the global warming recorded over the past 100 years. It is reportedly the single fastest temperature change ever recorded — up or down.

Some scientists contend the cooling is the result of reduced solar activity — which they say is a larger driver of climate change than man-made greenhouse gases.

Three taxpayer advocacy groups plan to protest outside Congressman John Murtha's annual fundraising event tonight for defense industry lobbyists who have benefited — or hope to benefit — from millions of dollars worth of earmarks. Robert Novak calls the event Murtha's "annual payback dinner by defense contractors." Tickets for the Pennsylvania Democrat's dinner go for $1,500 for individuals and 5,000 for political action committees.

Murtha has $115 million worth of earmarks in the 2008 Defense Appropriations bill. He was recently voted the 2007 "Porker of the Year" by Citizens Against Government Waste — for his total of $150 million in earmarks in the 2008 budget.