John Hansen: “This week in Bonn, Germany, representatives from around the world will meet on the issues of greenhouse gases. They will…”

“This week in Bonn, Germany, representatives from around the world will meet on the issues of greenhouse gases. They will be negotiating how quickly the industrial nations must rein in the emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases. These talks are in preparation for later negotiations in December in Kyoto, Japan. Global warming has been an issue of great debate and discussion in Congress. Nearly all of the discussion on global warming surrounds the mandatory reduction of carbon dioxide through costly government controls. The Clinton administration's own studies show that this effort would result in substantial increases in energy prices and damage to the economy. Quoting from 'Economic Effects on Global Climate Change Policies' published by the administration's own Interagency Analytical Team, the higher energy costs would produce GDP losses between 0.2 and 1.0 percent of GDP. For an economy which grew 5.1 percent last year, 1.0 percent would financially hurt every single American. There is no doubt that everyone agrees that we need to keep our planet clean.”