US politicians in $500k carbon-fuelled jolly to study "global warming"

One rule for the rulers, another for the ruled. Gross Hypocrisy Alert as a bunch of US pollies spend half a million studying "global warming" - nice work if you can get it, and by the sound of it, pretty tough I think you'll agree:

The 10 members of Congress dived or snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef, visited a Queensland rainforest, observed a penguin rookery on the South Pole, watched a New Year fireworks display in Christchurch and finished the trip on Hawaii's famous Waikiki Beach.

They flew from destination to destination on a specially-equipped $US70 million ($83.38 million) US Air Force C-40 jet, described as the military's business-class version of a Boeing 737.

The 11-day mission was designed to study climate change, but the globe-trotting politicians are now feeling the heat after the Wall Street Journal exposed the expensive expedition [click here for the full gory details - Ed].

The politicians have been in the firing line of numerous editorials and stinging articles in the US media.

Anyone hazard a guess at the size of this jolly's carbon footprint?

Read it here.