Superstorm a turning point in US climate change debate: senator
Washington (Platts)--29Nov2012/426 pm EST/2126 GMT
The chairwoman of a key US Senate committee Thursday called Superstorm
Sandy a "turning point" in the debate over climate change while another
committee member said the views of climate change deniers should no
longer be tolerated.
During a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, 18
Senate and House members from the states hardest hit by the October 30
storm were scheduled to testify about the impact of hurricane-force
winds and flooding. More than a dozen states formally declared states of
emergency and more than 8.5 million customers were without power across
21 states due to the storm.
Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat and chairwoman of the
committee, called the storm the "turning point in our fight to address
climate change."
"You can close your eyes and cover your ears and put a pillow over your
head, but anyone with a heartbeat and a pulse can tell things are
changing," Boxer said.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, said in Sandy's
aftermath members of the committee should no longer tolerate the views
of members who deny the impact of human activity on climate change.
"We've tolerated the deniers for far too long in this body," Whitehouse
said, claiming that the fight against climate change legislation was
being led by "polluters" opposed to any new climate change regulation.
"We have to face the fact that the deniers are wrong. They are just
plain, dead wrong."
Senator Jim Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican and the ranking member of the
Senate environment committee, has been one of the leading climate change
deniers in the Senate. Due to term limits, Inhofe, who did not appear at
Thursday's hearing, will be replaced as the committee's ranking member
in January by Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican. Vitter's
move into the ranking member's seat has fueled speculation that climate
change legislation will face less resistance from Republicans during the
next congressional session.
In an interview this week, Vitter said that while he shares Inhofe's
skepticism of the effect of human activity on climate change, he likely
would not focus on the issue as much as Inhofe has.
"Where we may differ a little bit is just the time and energy I spend on
that in committee," he said.
Still, Vitter said that any climate change legislation is "really dead
in this congress and the next congress."
While Boxer sees hope for climate change legislation, President Barack
Obama has indicated climate change action will not be a priority of his
second term.
--Brian Scheid,
brian_scheid@platts.com
--Edited by Jason Lindquist,
jason_lindquist@platts.com
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