The House Science and Technology Committee on Thursday held the first hearing in Congress on the recently released United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the most comprehensive scientific study on climate change to date that says humans are "very likely" the cause of the earth's hotter temperatures.
The hearing kicked off with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) addressing the committee, an unusual move that demonstrates how important the issue of global warming has become to the Democratic leadership in Congress.
"Global warming will shape our society," Pelosi said, advocating for a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and citing the potential for rising seas, severe drought, nastier storms and environmental refugees now that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached its highest level in 650,000 years. "This is an issue that is as immediate to the American people as their own neighborhoods and as global as the planet," she said.
But Pelosi's presence also served to immediately politicize the hearing, which was delayed by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin), who insisted on invoking a rule allowing the committee to question anyone appearing before it, even if that person was not giving testimony.
[Note: Pelosi was giving testimony, but it is unusual for a House Speaker to do so and irregular for committee members to question her.]
Sensenbrenner wanted to know how Pelosi planned to control global warming and not "wreck the American economy," especially if other countries such as China and India, who are also big polluters, refuse to clamp down on emissions and could welcome outsourced jobs from the United States should an economic slow down occur here.
"There are two sides to the question," Sensenbrenner said. "One is the scientific side and the other is the economic consequences. I'm very fearful that we're looking at one side of the equation and ignoring the other."
Pelosi responded that working to develop cutting edge technology to curb global warming would only spur economic growth at home.
Rep. Todd Akin (R-Missouri) expressed skepticism that humans had caused global warming, then made a reference to growing corn in Greenland and wondered, "Is it so bad if it gets warmer?" He asked Pelosi if she would consider using more nuclear power to meet energy needs, an idea that Pelosi has opposed in the past.
"I think it has to be on the table," Pelosi answered.
For more on the hearing, see this post.
Photo: James
