Dome has heard that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is 23.

Twenty-three, you say? That's right, she's the 23rd oldest person in the U.S. Senate.

Although a recent TV ad implies that Dole is in her 90s, there's only one senator who's that advanced in age: Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, who was born in 1917.

Five senators are in their 80s: Sens. Ted Stevens, Frank Lautenberg, Daniel Inouye, Daniel Akaka and John Warner.

And 19 senators, including Dole, are septuagenerians. The list includes Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Dick Lugar and Ted Kennedy, who are all older than the North Carolina's senior senator, and John McCain and Jay Rockefeller, who are younger.

The average age of a U.S. senator is currently about 63 years old, as is the median, although those numbers will drop a little in the next few years with the possible departures of Kennedy, who has a brain tumor, and Stevens, who has been indicted.

At 43, the youngest is Sen. John Sununu; the third youngest at 47, Sen. Barack Obama.

Don't get your hopes up about a Lieberman-Dole climate change bill.

In Raleigh today for a meeting with the Disabled American Veterans group, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole told Dome she was dismayed that the Climate Security Act failed in the Senate today.

"It's unfortunate, but that's it for now," said Dole, who had voted to move the bill forward.

Since Republican co-sponsor John Warner will be retiring at the end of the session, Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman is reportedly looking for a new member of the GOP to push a revamped bill in next year's session. Dole was asked if she would be interested.

"I think we have to wait and see how things evolve, what happens," she said. "You've got to really have an opportunity to look at the language." 

Dole was a cosponsor of the bill introduced in October, but she was not the lead Republican. 

She said she hopes a future bill will include provisions to promote nuclear power and exploration of potential oil fields "in areas where people want it" — specifically the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"People don't want it in North Carolina, but in Alaska they're begging for it," she said. 

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole decided a year ago that climate change was real.

As the U.S. Senate casts a historic vote on the first comprehensive bill aimed at global warming, the Salisbury Republican is an unusual supporter.

"I think it's very important that we move on this, because the costs of inaction are just too great," Dole said in an interview Thursday. "The data became more and more voluminous."

She was further persuaded by two Senate buddies — Independent Joe Lieberman and Republican John Warner — who talked to her about the impact of climate change on national security.

The bill will allow companies to "buy" credits in exchange for emitting carbon. Political analysts say that Dole's support for the bill, which is expected to fail, had "national ramifications."

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr opposes the bill, saying it would hurt the Southeast because of its effects on coal-powered plants. (N&O)

The Club for Growth is targeting U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

The free-market group is spending $250,000 on radio and television spots against Dole and five other senators over a bill that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"Congress is at it again. This time, they're pushing massive new taxes and regulations in the name of global warming," says the narrator of the ad over dramatic music.

The ad then cites a study commission by the National Association of Manufacturers which found that the state could lose 146,000 jobs per year and see a 135 percent increase in electricity prices

Dole, who is running for re-election this year, is a co-sponsor of the measure sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, and Sen. John Warner, a Virginia Republican.

"Call Sen. Elizabeth Dole today," the narrator says. "Tell her to vote no on the Lieberman-Warner climate bill. North Carolinians just can't afford another huge costly government program."

Update: Dole was one of the original co sponsors of the legislation that would rely on a "cap and trade" program to give American companies a financial incentive to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, Rob Christensen reports.

Dole has also been subject to an automated telephone calling campaign by a group financed by coal companies according to Elizabeth Ouzts of Environment North Carolina.

She said environmentalists thnink the Lieberman-Warner bill does not go far enough and provides too many financial incentives to companies.

A transcript after the jump.

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole joined five other senators in co-sponsoring climate change legislation.

Sens. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and John Warner of Virginia have worked for several months to draft America's Climate Security Act, a bill introduced today that is designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions, Barb Barrett reports.

The bill's goal is to reduce total U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by as much as 19% below the 2005 level in the next 13 years, and by as much as 63% below the 2005 level in 2050.

The bill allows companies to save, borrow and trade emission allowances. Companies could earn credits by "inducing" other non-covered businesses such as farms to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions.

"The solution to this serious problem is not inaction," Dole said in a statement. "We must ensure clean air for future generations, and this is a responsible, market-driven approach that strengthens our economy, competitiveness and security."

Other co-sponsors include Democratic Sens. Tom Harkin of Iowa, Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Republican Sens. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Susan Collins of Maine.

The legislation is supported by both the National Wildlife Federation and Environmental Defense.