Gore testifies on climate change

WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- Former Vice President Al Gore, testifying before Congress, said Friday action on climate change will help the U.S. economy as well as the planet.

Gore was one of the final witnesses before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment in a four-day hearing on the proposed Clean Energy Security Act.

In an exchange with Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, a global warming skeptic, Gore compared scientists who argue against climate change to Bernard Madoff, the perpetrator of a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, The Dallas Morning News reported. Barton referred to a book that criticized predictions about the impact of climate change on ocean life.

"With all due respect, I believe that you have relied on people you have trusted who have given you bad information," Gore said. "I don't blame the investors who trusted Bernie Madoff, but he gave them bad information. He gave them bad information and committed a massive fraud that ended up hurting, most of all, the people who trusted him."