Olympia Snowe: “I rise today to support the Global Warming Reduction Act of 2007. Senator Kerry and I are here today offering this…”

“I rise today to support the Global Warming Reduction Act of 2007. Senator Kerry and I are here today offering this legislation because the issue of global warming is no longer seriously open to skepticism. The preponderance of peer-reviewed scientific evidence is irrefutable and the cost of inaction incalculable. It is no longer a question of science--it is now a question of political will. I believe our bill offers a means by which anyone who is honestly committed to addressing global warming can vote to improve our environmental future while preserving our economy. We call for 65 percent reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 for all major sectors of our society, and starting in 2010, we put these called-for emissions reductions on a downward glide path to make the reductions realistic yet aggressive. It takes a forward-looking, comprehensive, science-based approach to tackling this issue without putting a stranglehold on our economy. This is the right course at the right cost. While Congress fiddles, alpine glaciers and polar ice caps millions of years old are melting. Sea levels are rising globally. Manmade carbon dioxide levels and the average global temperature have increased at unprecedented levels over the past century--and are projected to increase up to 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit in the next 100 years.”