On the recordJuly 10, 2014
This amendment blocks funding for the Department of Energy's Climate Model Development and Validation program. This is climate science denial at its worst. The world's top scientific institutions are all telling us that we have a rapidly closing window to reduce our carbon pollution before the catastrophic impacts of climate change cannot be avoided. So far, the world has already warmed by 0.8 degrees Celsius, and we are already seeing the effects of climate change. Most scientists agree that 2 degrees Celsius is the maximum amount we can warm without really dangerous effects, although many scientists now believe that even 2 degrees is far too much, given the effects we are already seeing. But absent dramatic action, we are on track to warm 4 to 6 degrees Celsius by mid-century. That is more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The International Energy Agency has concluded that if the world does not take action to reduce carbon pollution by 2017--just 3 years from now--then it will be virtually impossible to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius. How do we know all this? There are multiple lines of evidence, including direct measurements. But scientists also use sophisticated computer models of how the atmosphere and oceans work and how they respond to different atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping gases.…
