Political Quotes

“policymakers from all over the world will be meeting in Paris this week and next to address the issue of climate change. With much fanfare, they will purport to reach an agreement that will prevent the Earth's ``average global air temperature'' from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius. This 2-degree limit will supposedly mean success for the conference in Paris and success in the battle against global warming, thus preventing catastrophic events from occurring. So I come to the floor to call attention to several news articles pointing out problems with this approach, with this 2-degree Celsius approach. The first is a front-page story from yesterday's Wall Street Journal. I hold it in my hand. It is titled ``Climate Experts Question Temperature Benchmark.'' This is not an opinion piece, it is a news article. The article points out that the 2-degree target is both arbitrary and based on questionable research. The article quotes Mark Maslin, professor of climatology at the University College London, saying: It emerged from a political agenda, not a scientific analysis. It's not a sensible, rational target. The article goes on to say that despite assumptions by policymakers, the 2-degree target does not express ``a solid scientific view.'' Indeed, no report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change even mentions the 2-degree limit. Economics Professor William Nordhaus appears to have been the first to use the 2-degree figure.…”