Most of the world has accepted the idea of global warming as a real threat and is trying to come to grips with strategies to keep Inuits in Alaska from having to buy swimsuits. Perhaps I should have written “most of the civilized world” to make allowance for Senator James Inhofe (R-11th century) who thinks it’s all a lot of science-based hooey. As we all know, science has a strong liberal bias.

Inhofe has made a virtual hobby out of using questionable science to support his agenda on climate change. Last December in Milan, Italy, at an annual UN meeting of parties to the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change, Inhofe distributed a brochure titled "The Facts and Science of Climate Change," which plugged the Soon and Baliunas study[financed in large part by the American Petroleum Institute.] Inhofe's document largely rehashed a July 2003 Senate floor speech he delivered, which concluded with a stunning line. "With all of the hysteria, all of the fear, all of the phony science," Inhofe said, "could it be that man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people? It sure sounds like it."

In a bizarre development, some scientists and ministers in the UK have banded together to join the fight on global warming.

AT LAST, evidence that global warming is a load of hot air. Cow flatulence has attracted the attention of ministers after emerging as an environmental menace to rival factory chimneys, Chelsea tractors and cheap air travel.

Bovine emissions account for around one million tonnes of methane a year in the UK and now the government wants farmers to change what they feed the animals to cut down greenhouse gases.

Scientists have already conducted experiments on different cattle feed to determine which one best cuts down gaseous after-effects, and ministers have not ruled out action to force farmers to change their cows' diet.

Officials have worked out that agriculture contributes 7% of all the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. The sector accounts for 36% of Britain's emissions of methane, and farm animals - chiefly cows - contribute the vast majority of it.

The problem is worse in Scotland, which has a higher concentration of agriculture, meaning farm animals produce 46% of methane emissions.

The solution is a new formulation of cow feed that will steeply limit the methane produced by British cows.

Since it’s Sunday I will avoid some of the obvious jokes that are possible. And trying to avoid jokes when writing about Jim Inhofe and things coming out of the south end of a cow is very hard to do.

I feel quite noble and very family-friendly.