Political Quotes

“There is no question that making sense of climate variability is a hugely complex challenge, but one that we can make progress on, at least before we commit to onerous regulations. In a 1999 study, the National Research Council made recommendations for a research strategy focusing on unanswered scientific questions. The NRC identified over 200 questions that need answers if we are to understand and predict climate change. That is exactly what the gentleman from Pennsylvania is suggesting; we need real science and real answers to some of these questions. But in the meantime, there are things that we can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We can improve energy efficiency, and we are doing that. We are developing new energy sources, sources that do not emit CO2; and certainly the research to expand the sequestration of CO2 must be encouraged. I have one chart that I think is dramatic. This is a model by the UC National Center for Atmospheric Research. What this diagram shows, the red line is what is going to happen to global warming without the Kyoto treaty. The orange line that we see coming up slightly underneath it in the years 2040 to 2050, represents the possible reduction in temperature. And even if all of the Kyoto treaty was implemented, the reduction in climate is 0.07 degrees centigrade, almost unmeasurable in its extent.”