[Illustrations, footnotes and references available in PDF version]   

The Obama administration's decision this week to introduce stringent new fuel efficiency standards for the U.S. car industry is a testament to the power of climate change hysteria. The lobby goes unchallenged in the corridors of power and will likely incur a disastrous economic and human toll.  It is also a means to gaining political power and, for the former vice president, personal riches.