The power crisis in California is only a prelude to what will come if the Kyoto treaty on global warming is adopted, say opponents. It is not likely the issue will go away, because too many people have built their careers on it.

• The Kyoto accord has not yet been ratified by any industrialized nation.

• Cooler heads have prevailed because, if adopted, it would restrict the energy use of industrialized nations by between 30 percent and 40 percent within a decade.

• While a United Nations science panel has once again predicted a rise of more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit in global temperatures over the next 100 years, other scientists have detected little or no warming since about 1940 -- and they do not put much faith in the U.N.'s theoretical forecasts.

• Moreover, global data from satellites show no appreciable warming trend since such measurements commenced in 1979 -- and those results are independently confirmed by instruments carried in weather balloons.

So contrary to assertions by global warming adherents, the evidence supporting their stand is not a settled scientific issue.

Source: S. Fred Singer (University of Virginia), "Global Warming Rewarmed," Washington Times, February 2, 2001.