[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 102 (Friday, July 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1576-E1577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CLIMATE CHANGE: UNDERSTANDING THE DEGREE OF THE PROBLEM?

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2006

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I made the attached statement in the House 
Government Reform Committee regarding global warming on July 20, 2006.

     Statement of Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, U.S. House of 
              Representatives, Government Reform Committee

       Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling this important hearing 
     on Climate Change, the first such substantive hearing in the 
     House in recent memory. If we are to successfully deal with 
     global warming, it cannot be a partisan issue. It will 
     require our full attention and an inestimable share of our 
     resources, which requires united leadership. This hearing, 
     therefore, is a major step in the right direction. However, I 
     was disappointed to hear the Administration's testimony today 
     which is decidedly partisan. Indeed it continues to try to 
     put a happy face on bad policies and take credit for work it 
     has not done.
       A good place to start is the Administration's claim to have 
     reduced greenhouse gas ``intensity'' during its tenure. 
     Efficiency gains make the ``intensity'' go down anyway. 
     Moreover, this deceptive rhetorical device diverts attention 
     from its failure to set a goal for greenhouse gas emissions 
     reductions that is consistent with that which is justified by 
     the current science. California has done so, calling for an 
     80 percent reduction. Holland is now cutting emissions by 80 
     percent in 40 years. Tony Blair has committed the UK to 
     cutting emissions by 60 percent in 50 years. Germany has 
     obligated itself to cuts of 50 percent in 50 years. Several 
     months ago, French President Chirac called on the entire 
     industrial world to cut emissions 75 percent by 2050.

[[Page E1577]]

       In fact, this is only one of the instances in which this 
     Administration has thumbed its nose at the international 
     community. There is not only an unwillingness to move forward 
     with substantive action on global warming, there is active 
     resistance, and, in fact, bullying of other countries. The 
     Administration started by walking away from the Kyoto 
     protocol. I was in Johannesburg for the World Summit on 
     Sustainable Development in 2002. Nothing of significance from 
     the U.S. I went to Buenos Aires for the Conference of the 
     Parties in 2004. Nothing of significance from the U.S. In 
     Montreal, Harlan Watson walked out of negotiations in what 
     was perceived in international media as a tantrum when the 
     Administration didn't get its way. There was an agreement in 
     the G8 that the U.S. re-engage on the issue. It did not 
     happen.
       Instead, we see not only rhetorical red herrings, but we 
     see Enron accounting techniques being used to create the 
     illusion that something is being done. The GAO released a 
     report in August 2005 called Climate Change; Federal Reports 
     on Climate Change Funding Should Be Clearer and More 
     Complete. This report listed suspect activities claimed by 
     the OMB as spending on global warming, including such efforts 
     as the ``Andean Counterdrug Initiative.''
       Making matters worse, the Administration advocates for 
     dealing with global warming by advocating for nuclear power. 
     Nuclear power has been shown to be greenhouse gas intensive, 
     it is far less cost effective than renewables, far less 
     polluting than renewables, and facilitates further 
     proliferation of nuclear weapons materials. We are trading 
     our addiction to oil and all the problems that go with it, 
     for nuclear power and a whole new set of equally pernicious 
     problems that go with it, when common sense alternatives are 
     readily available or within our reach.
       In the meantime, it is becoming increasingly clear that the 
     effects of global warming are already being felt. The United 
     Nations has declared that at least 5 million cases of illness 
     and more than 150,000 deaths every year are attributable to 
     global warming. The 2003 European heat wave killed over 
     20,000 people. The 10 hottest years on record have occurred 
     in the last 15 years. Two consecutive record-breaking 
     hurricane seasons.
       Exactly how bad does it have to get?

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