This page best viewed at 600 x 800 pixels using Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 or higher or Netscape Navigator 4 or higher . Mr. President, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of this important legislation. This bill is a good beginning for a discussion in the Senate on how we can begin to develop constructive solutions to the problem of global climate change.
Climate change is real.
Over the last 130 years, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, global average surface temperatures have increased by one degree. Scientists project that this trend will continue and most of them believe the trend is due to increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. The temperature increase may not sound like much, but the consequences of even such a small global change could be enormous. This warming trend could have many effects, including even more unpredictable weather patterns, and major shifts in agricultural soils and productivity and wildlife habitat. To me, that drives home the need to deal with the problem.