[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14976-14978]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             CLIMATE CHANGE

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I rise today to speak on behalf of 
Rhode Islanders who are fed up with our inaction to address climate 
change and to reform our Nation's energy policy.
  In the media and in this very Chamber, we have all seen the tactics 
of deception and delay intended to convince the American public that 
the overwhelming body of climate science is inconclusive, that there is 
some doubt about whether our planet is experiencing unnatural changes 
in its climate. They argue that the American people are not concerned 
about warming temperatures, rising sea levels, and shrinking glaciers. 
They imply that business as usual is our best option, that job-
creating, clean energy technologies built right here in America aren't 
worth the trouble or the investment. These voices of deception and 
delay are simply wrong.
  During my time representing Rhode Island in the Senate, I have 
received thousands of letters and phone calls urging that this Chamber 
take bold action to price carbon and create clean energy jobs that will 
fuel our economy for generations to come. Contrary to what detractors 
would have us think, the vast majority of my constituents know that 
continuing to fiddle as the world warms is irresponsible, dangerous, 
and harmful to our Nation's interests.
  Some of the most poignant letters I have received are from students, 
Boy Scouts, and other young people who are concerned about the future 
of the planet they will inherit from us. In December, a high school 
student from Wakefield named Kristin shared her concerns, writing to 
me:

       As a teenager with my whole life ahead of me, I am 
     concerned about the dire consequences of climate change and 
     the impact it will have not only upon Rhode Island, but the 
     whole world.

  Kristin says she hopes to stay in Rhode Island for the long term, but 
she is worried about the impacts rising ocean temperatures may have on 
the vitality of the fishing industry--a critical economic driver for 
the Ocean State that she calls home. By continuing to delay climate 
legislation, we not only damage the Earth for Kristin's generation, we 
also force her and her peers to be participants in an economy based on 
unchecked carbon emissions, unwilling contributors to the damage of 
their planet.
  Rhode Islanders also believe they will benefit from comprehensive 
climate legislation because energy efficiency and renewable energy 
technologies will be the foundation of a vibrant new clean energy 
economy.
  Doug from Newport recently started a small business designing and 
installing residential solar panels. He hears from many of his 
potential customers that they want to reduce their dependence on fossil 
fuels, especially in light of the BP oilspill down in the gulf. Doug 
does everything he can to make his product affordable. He helps his 
customers investigate loan options and tax credits, and he offers 
prices significantly lower than many of his competitors. Doug's 
business is a promising one, and he is undaunted by challenges, but at 
this point he has difficulty competing with dirty fuels such as coal 
that are allowed to pollute our environment for free, regardless of the 
costs they impose on the rest of society. Putting a price on carbon 
pollution would help Doug compete on a level playing field with other 
fuel sources.
  Doug, like other clean energy supporters, has our country's best 
interests at heart. Doug says he wants to ``get it right'' by 
purchasing many of the solar panels from manufacturers in the United 
States, creating jobs here in America and keeping our energy dollars 
from flowing overseas. Nonetheless, he says American-made products are 
often more expensive or even sometimes unavailable. That is because 
other countries such as China and India are outpacing the United States 
in the advancement of wind and solar technology while we continue to 
subsidize coal and oil. We are deliberately losing this race at this 
point. It is long past due to make coal and oil start paying for the 
pollution they create in our environment and to begin investing in 
clean energy policies that will promote American businesses like 
Doug's.
  Another constituent, Gary from Wakefield, wrote in after hearing that 
a wind farm in Texas was being built with turbines manufactured in 
China. He was understandably frustrated that

[[Page 14977]]

the American economy didn't benefit from the jobs that made-in-America 
turbines would have generated. Gary demanded to know: ``What are we 
waiting for?''
  Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly support energy reform that will create 
jobs and make polluters pay. Construction workers, small business 
owners, biodiesel producers, and renewable energy manufacturers wait 
anxiously for America to start catching up with our competitors around 
the globe. Schoolchildren want to know that the natural world and all 
its beauty and diversity will be preserved for their enjoyment and 
exploration well into the future. Consumers want to reap the benefits 
of energy efficiency technology that will let them keep money in their 
pockets that we are now sending overseas to fuel our oil addiction. 
Faith-based groups want to be good stewards of God's Earth, as they 
believe mankind is charged to be. Grandparents want to share the world 
as they have known it with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
  As we move ever closer to the close of the 111st Congress, the 
question Gary asked rings even louder: What are we waiting for?
  I wish to refer to an article in the Wall Street Journal from July 
29, 2010, reporting a new assessment that concludes that the Earth has 
been getting warmer over the past 50 years and the past decade was the 
warmest on record. It describes the ``State of the Climate 2009'' 
report published Wednesday in a special supplement to the Bulletin of 
the American Meteorological Society. It was compiled by 300 scientists 
from 48 countries, and it drew on 10 climate indicators.
  Seven of the indicators were rising: air temperature over land, sea-
surface temperature, sea level, ocean heat, humidity--all going up. 
Three indicators were declining: Arctic sea ice, glaciers, spring snow 
cover in the northern hemisphere. Those are all declining.
  ``Each indicator is changing as we'd expect in a warming world,'' 
said Peter Thorne, the senior researcher at the Cooperative Institute 
for Climate and Satellites. The report concluded:

       Global average surface and lower-troposphere temperatures 
     during the last three decades have been progressively warmer 
     than all earlier decades, and the 2000s (2000-09) was the 
     warmest decade in the instrumental record.

  The scientists reported they were surprised to find Greenland's 
glaciers were losing ice at an accelerating rate. They concluded that 
90 percent of the additional warmth over the past 50 years has ended up 
in the oceans. They can only absorb so much, and then it begins to 
affect us directly.
  ``A comprehensive review of key climate indicators confirms the world 
is warming and the past decade was the warmest on record,'' the annual 
state of the climate report declares.
  The amount of increase each decade--about a fifth of a degree 
Fahrenheit--may seem small. . . . but the temperature increase of about 
1 degree Fahrenheit experienced during the past 50 years has already 
altered the planet, the report said. Glaciers and sea ice are melting, 
heavy rainfall is intensifying, and heat waves are becoming more common 
and more intense.
  I ask unanimous consent to have these two articles printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

             [From the Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2010]

                   Study Says Planet Warmed in 2000s

                            (By Gautam Naik)

       A new assessment concludes that the Earth has been getting 
     warmer over the past 50 years and the past decade was the 
     warmest on record.
       The State of the Climate 2009 report, published Wednesday 
     as a special supplement to the Bulletin of the American 
     Meteorological Society, was compiled by 300 scientists from 
     48 countries and drew on measures of 10 crucial climate 
     indicators.
       Seven of the indicators were rising, including air 
     temperature over land, sea-surface temperature, sea level, 
     ocean heat and humidity. Three indicators were declining, 
     including Arctic sea ice, glaciers and spring snow cover in 
     the Northern Hemisphere. ``Each indicator is changing as we'd 
     expect in a warming world,'' said Peter Thorne, senior 
     researcher at the Cooperative Institute for Climate and 
     Satellites, a research consortium based in College Park, Md., 
     who was involved in compiling the report.
       The report's conclusions broadly match those of the 
     Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations 
     body, which published its last set of findings in 2007. The 
     IPCC report contained some errors, which further stoked the 
     debate about the existence, causes and effects of global 
     warming.
       The new report incorporates data from the past few years 
     that weren't included in the last IPCC assessment. While the 
     IPCC report concluded that evidence for human-caused global 
     warming was ``unequivocal'' and was linked to emissions of 
     greenhouse gases, the latest report didn't seek to address 
     the issue.
       The report ``doesn't try to make the link'' between climate 
     change and what might be causing it, said Tom Karl, an 
     official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration involved in the new assessment.
       The report said that ``Global average surface and lower-
     troposphere temperatures during the last three decades have 
     been progressively warmer than all earlier decades, and the 
     2000s (2000-09) was the warmest decade in the instrumental 
     record.'' The troposphere is the lowest layer of the 
     atmosphere.
       The scientists reported that they were surprised to find 
     Greenland's glaciers were losing ice at an accelerating rate. 
     They also concluded that 90 percent of the additional warmth 
     over the past 50 years has ended up in the oceans. Most of it 
     accumulated in near-surface layers, home to phytoplankton, 
     tiny plants crucial to virtually all life in the sea.
       A new study has found that rising sea temperature may have 
     had a harmful effect on global concentrations of 
     phytoplankton over the past century.
                                  ____


                 [From the Boston Globe, July 29, 2010]

                Scientists Say Planet Continues To Warm

                         (By Associated Press)

       Washington.--Scientists from around the world are providing 
     more evidence of global warming, one day after President 
     Obama renewed his call for climate legislation.
       ``A comprehensive review of key climate indicators confirms 
     the world is warming and the past decade was the warmest on 
     record,'' the annual State of the Climate report declares.
       Compiled by more than 300 scientists from 48 countries, the 
     report said its analysis of 10 indicators that are ``clearly 
     and directly related to surface temperatures, all tell the 
     same story: Global warming is undeniable.''
       Concern has been growing in recent years as atmospheric 
     scientists report rising temperatures associated with 
     greenhouse gases released into the air by industrial and 
     other human processes. At the same time, some skeptics have 
     questioned the conclusions. The new report, the 20th in a 
     series, focuses only on global warming and does not specify a 
     cause.
       ``The evidence in this report would say `unequivocally, 
     yes, there is no doubt''' that the Earth is warming, said Tom 
     Karl, the transitional director of the new climate service of 
     the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
       The new report said continued warming is a growing threat.
       ``The amount of increase each decade--about a fifth of a 
     degree Fahrenheit--may seem small. . . . But the temperature 
     increase of about 1 degree Fahrenheit experienced during the 
     past 50 years has already altered the planet,'' the report 
     said. ``Glaciers and sea ice are melting, heavy rainfall is 
     intensifying, and heat waves are becoming more common and 
     more intense.''

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I will conclude by saying it is obviously not going 
to be easy to address real climate legislation, real clean energy jobs 
legislation here in this body. The big special interests have their way 
here far too often. They have spent years salting the fields of public 
opinion with their propaganda. Their power in this Chamber is immense. 
We may not have the luxury of waiting to take this on until it is easy. 
We may have to take this on while it is hard, while it is a fight 
against the entrenched interests, while it is a fight against the big 
polluters, while it is a fight against the propaganda and dissimulation 
and deceit and delay that are their stock-in-trade on this issue. But 
the one thing I think that can reassure us is that the public is with 
us, that the facts honestly looked at are clear, that the stakes by any 
standard are high, and that history's judgment of our failure will be a 
stern one.
  I hope we can pull ourselves together to take on this issue so that 
the Rhode Islanders who communicate to me so often about this and the 
people from across this country who see clearly, without the fog of 
special interest money and influence, what is happening to our country 
and our world, that their voices are heard more than the big money and 
the big special interests.

[[Page 14978]]

  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.

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