It was a telling moment. Al Gore was before the Senate environment committee last week, being grilled on the science of climate change by Republican Senator James Inhofe. Until January, Inhofe had been the committee’s chairman, and his manner seemed calculated to deprive the former vice-president of time to respond. Finally Barbara Boxer, the committee’s new Democratic chairwoman, lost patience. “You’re not making the rules,” she said, brandishing her gavel. “Elections have consequences.”
The exchange offered striking evidence of how last November’s ouster of Republicans from both houses of Congress is likely to shape US policy on global warming. This…
