Political Quotes

“I take this opportunity to alert my colleagues of the growing concern that we all have relative to climate change and the developing technology associated with that change. This week the U.S. Global Change Research Program issued a revealing and rather startling new report on the consequences of climate change. This report affects a number of things. But the most significant portion of the report is the estimated effects of climate change on various regions of the country and various sectors of our economy. It is very important--agriculture, water resources, and so forth. At the heart of this report are some 'potential scenarios' of climate change over the next 100 years predicted by two climate models: Computers models that were state of the art 3 years ago when the report began. These 'scenarios' of climate change were then used to drive other models for vegetation, river flow, and agriculture. Each of these models had its own set of assumptions and limitations. The end result was a 600-page report that paints a rather grim picture of 21st century climate predictions. Some in the environmental community in favor of the Kyoto Protocol are now using this report and shouting from the rooftops. They think this study means we should go forward with drastic measures to limit greenhouse gases. But I want to caution my colleagues to look beyond the rhetoric and to look to the science that underlies this assessment.”