[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 24, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H4437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    URGING THE PRESIDENT TO TAKE MEANINGFUL ACTION ON GLOBAL WARMING

  (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago I was at the Arctic Wildlife 
Refuge, where the Bush administration wants to drill for oil.
  While we will be debating whether to change that precious intact 
ecosystem, I wanted to advise Members that we are already changing the 
Arctic Wildlife Refuge. The reason we are changing it is that we are 
already causing global climate change, global warming.
  What I found at the Arctic ocean is that the ice pack in the Arctic 
Ocean is shrinking significantly, almost a 50 percent reduction in 
depth, a 10 percent reduction in coverage.
  I went to Denali National Park. The rangers told me that the tree 
line is moving north already due to global climate change. We are 
already changing the Arctic.
  When the world met in Bonn 2 days ago to try to do something about 
it, the Bush administration sent the United States to the bench and did 
absolutely nothing. We as a leader in democracy abdicated, due to the 
Bush administration's ostrich like-proposals to do anything about 
global climate change.
  I am urging the Bush administration to act, to lead the country and 
lead the world to do something meaningful about climate change so we do 
not destroy the world.

                          ____________________