Rick Allen: “fellow colleagues, please do not overreact by the claim that the climate is changing. The climate has always changed…”

“fellow colleagues, please do not overreact by the claim that the climate is changing. The climate has always changed naturally. Thanks in large part to scientific research carried out in the United States, we know much more about our climate than we did a mere quarter-century ago. More than anything else, we now know that climate never has been, and never will be, constant. When our civilization arose with the flowering of agriculture, some 5,000 years ago, climate scientists tell us the earth was a few degrees warmer than it is today. At one time, what is now the dry desert southwest was a much wetter tropical environment. Climate scientists also tell us that 300 years ago it was a few degrees colder, Europe suffered through the Plagues, ice skaters graced the Thames River in London. Mr. President, 150 years ago, when that 'Little Ice Age' ended, America embarked upon its manifest destiny. In the last 100 years, the Earth has warmed an additional degree, American crop yields quintupled, life span doubled, wealth became democratized beyond the wildest dreams of even the most optimistic. In that 100 years, our free economy was powered largely by fuels extracted from the earth. Some of these produce carbon dioxide, which scientists have known, since 1872, can slightly warm the surface of the earth. At the same time, our competitive economy forced increased efficiency. The family car now uses half as much fuel as it once did.…”