Big news from the climate catastrophe caucus these last few days. As you know by now, toward the end of last week Mr. Al Gore declared a "full-scale planetary emergency." You may have missed the particulars as Mr. Gore was imploring you to exploit the "space resource" and you were mobilizing and evacuating your family to the backyard escape-pod.

Well, Sir Nicholas Stern of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has the whole story. In a 700-page report, Sir Nicholas says that carbon dioxide could kill 40% of the species on earth and, oh yes, cause a Global Depression and the disappearance of 20% of world GDP -- every year. Thankfully, it will only cost us $450 billion a year in tax payments to Sir Nicholas to save our economy, the animals, and the ice bergs.

If you are already half-way to your Martian refugee space bunker, Stop! Come back. Everything's okay. Take a deep breath...and exhale long and slow. The globe's preeminent climate scientist Richard Lindzen of MIT offers comfort, reassurance -- and a few laughs.

To be sure, for those who enthuse over the regulatory state, the possibility of regulating breathing must be like a dream come true.

Under the circumstances, perhaps we should be suspicious of the dishonourable tradition of establishing the alleged truth of global warming by constant repetition, while ignoring reality.

-Bret Swanson