Quote of the day: Finally the government takes advantage of Al Gore's extensive work on global climate change—only it's the British government

"The evidence shows that ignoring climate change will eventually damage economic growth. Our actions over the coming decades could create risks of major disruption to economic and social activity, later in this century and in the next, on a scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic depression of the first half of the 20th century."
--from a newly released report by a commission on the Economics of Global Change headed by Sir Nicholas Stern (above), a senior British government economist, for Chancellor of the Exchequer (i.e., Treasury Secretary) Gordon Brown (the presumed future prime minister)

The report has triggered a flurry of activity:

• Chancellor Brown (right) announced that former U.S. Vice President Al Gore will be consulting with the British government on climate change.

• Still-Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a call for "bold and decisive action" to reduce emissions.

• Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, Chimpy the Prez . . . uh . . . well, the last we heard, our Chimpy was still waiting for more research--although, according to reliable sources, with the shift in government funding toward anti-environmental research, the closest thing to a relevant study being funded by the U.S. government is one aimed at pinning down the date of the Rapture. The president is said, however, to have asked aides to look into where he can get "one o' them cool purple ties" like the one Chancellor Brown is seen wearing above. (We are unable to confirm persistent reports that Karl Rove has commissioned multiple surveys to find out whether voters think a purple tie would go well with the president's eyes.)