WASHINGTON (AP) -- Al Gore, who has reversed his political fortunes to become a potential contender in the 2008 presidential race, made an emotional return to Congress Wednesday in an appeal for an even more dramatic rescue -- saving the planet.
Gore advised lawmakers to cut carbon dioxide and other warming gases 90 percent by 2050 to avoid a crisis. Doing that, he said, will require a ban on any new coal-burning power plants -- a major source of industrial carbon dioxide -- that lack state-of-the-art controls to capture the gases.
He said he foresees a revolution in small-scale electricity producers for replacing coal, likening the development to what the Internet has done for the exchange of information.
"There is a sense of hope in this country that this United States Congress will rise to the occasion and present meaningful solutions to this crisis," Gore said. "Our world faces a true planetary emergency. I know the phrase sounds shrill, and I know it's a challenge to the moral imagination."
He rejected the contention by opponents of quick action on global warming that the United States should only impose mandatory controls on greenhouse gases if China, India and other rapidly developing nations agree to do the same.
"The best way and the only way to get China and India on board is for the U.S. to demonstrate real leadership," Gore said. "As the world's largest economy and the greatest superpower, we are uniquely situated to tackle a problem of this magnitude," he said.
"You're not just off a little, you're totally wrong," said Texas Rep. Joe Barton, the leading Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as he challenged Gore's conclusion that carbon dioxide emissions cause rising global temperatures.
Barton and Gore's exchange grew testy at one point -- Barton demanding that Gore get to the point and Gore responding that he would like time to answer without being interrupted.
"Global warming science is uneven and evolving," Barton said.
"A lot of those recommendations are more regulations and more taxation," said former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a Republican from Illinois, though he added that he agrees with Gore that the scientific debate on climate change is over.
"I think we can find answers to use the coal energy, to use the natural gas we have."
Gore was warmly welcomed back by some of his critics, such as Republican Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas.
"You're dear to us, but I just don't agree with you on this," Hall said.
2 comments:
"Global warming science is uneven and evolving," Barton said."
Let me get this straight. A republican actually said that something can evolve? Even if it's "science?" Holy Mother of Pearl Batpeople! Does anyone else see the monumental step this tiny brained wiper of other people's bottms has made? I'd explain more, but then you wouldn't learn anything.
dear anonymous poster,
this is an excellent point. brilliant really. wished i'd thought of it. you are clearly filled with vast amounts of wisdom, and i salute you on this day. i think you might have just delivered the deathblow to the republican party like the scene in timecop when present-tense guy bumps into himself in the past-tense and they both melt into oblivion (because identical matter cannot touch according to the science of timecop).
Post a Comment