Well, isn’t it just like Congress to take the latest fad -- in this case, “global warming” -- and use it to try to usher in yet more government control of your life?

The “Lieberman-Warner” bill (named after its Senate sponsors, Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and John Warner, R-Va.) is based on unproven “science,” represents massive government intrusion, and oh, yes, it could cripple the economy.

But never mind that. Who cares if the plan severely damages the economy? Who cares if there are staggering job losses and an increase in the price of virtually everything? We must save the planet from the evil empire of capitalism and the looming threat of meltdown!

In the course of placing strict limits on the production of greenhouse gases, the proposed legislation would torch our economy faster than you can melt an iceberg. According to a new study from The Heritage Foundation, Americans would see their incomes drop and employment growth slashed.

Oh, not everything would go down. Energy prices would rise nearly 20 percent from 2012 to 2030.

And all this to possibly gain a tiny change in the earth’s temperature. How tiny? In the words of the Heritage study, “perhaps even smaller than the .07 of a degree Celsius drop in temperature that many scientists expected from worldwide compliance with the Kyoto climate change accords.” That’s worth wrecking our economy and placing yet more regulations on you, your work and your life in general?

Now the crack researchers in Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis have gone one step further: They’ve broken down all the national numbers and shown us exactly how the Lieberman-Warner bill would affect each state. So let’s take a quick trip around the country to view seven sample states and see what we can expect if the bill becomes law. (And if we miss your home state, just go to heritage.org.)

California: Residents of the Golden State would say goodbye to 15,341 non-farm jobs in 2012, the first year the Lieberman-Warner restrictions take effect. By 2025, that number would rise to 62,795. Personal income would decline by $2.6 billion in 2012, and end up with a loss of $13 billion in 2025.

New Jersey:
Non-farm jobs lost in 2012: 4,130
Non-farm jobs lost in 2025: 16,906
Income lost in 2012: $753 million
Income lost in 2025: $3.6 billion

South Dakota:
 Non-farm jobs lost in 2012: 407
 Non-farm jobs lost in 2025: 1,667
 Income lost in 2012: $48 million
 Income lost in 2025: $234 million

Massachusetts:
 Non-farm jobs lost in 2012: 3,232
 Non-farm jobs lost in 2025: 13,229
 Income lost in 2012: $557 million
 Income lost in 2025: $2.7 billion

Illinois:
 Non-farm jobs lost in 2012: 5,928
 Non-farm jobs lost in 2025: 24,264
 Income lost in 2012: $918 million
 Income lost in 2025: $4.4 billion Continued...