Links: How Many Bloggers and MIT Professors Does It Take to Correct a Number?
April 3, 2009 | Posted by Keith Gaby in Economics, Links and Quotes
The House committee’s new draft bill was big news this week, but it threatens to be overshadowed by all the posts flying around about the misuse of a number by prominent Congressmen, notably Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Some of our favorite rebuttals:
- EDF’s own Truth Squad gives a brief sketch of the number and why it was wrong.
- The Daily Green explains how Boehner misinterpreted the number, including a handy chart.
- Grist has great quotes from the study’s author, an MIT professor, commenting on the number Boehner used (via PolitiFact). The best: “It’s wrong in so many ways it’s hard to begin.”
- The Wall Street Journal included the latest press release from Republican leadership, who are not backing down in the face of simple math.
And a shout-out to One Blue Marble, spotlighting what EDF’s Fred Krupp says about the costs of climate action, based on Department of Energy data:
The impact on household utility bills will be about a dime a day, and that dime will be the hardest working dime in America. It will create jobs, reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and protect the climate.

