In his testimony today former Vice-President Al Gore equates the cause of global warming legislation with the civil right legislation of the 1960s and the Marshall Plan of the 1940s. Gore is testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee today. He will be followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the committee chairman, and Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee, have introduced a draft version of the “American Clean Energy and Security Act” that includes a cap and trade scheme.
“I believe this legislation has the moral significance equivalent to that of the civil rights legislation of the 1960s and the Marshall Plan of the late 1940s,” Gore declares in his written testimony. “By repowering America with a transition to a clean energy economy and ending our dangerous over-reliance on carbon based fuels, this bill will simultaneously address the climate crisis, the economic crisis, and the national security threats that stem from our dependence on foreign oil.”
Gore cites several examples of the impact global warming is now having on the environment. For example, he claims the melting of the Greenland ice sheet has reached a new record, which is 60 percent above the previous high in 1998. Gore will also tell members of Congress that carbon dioxide pollution is “changing the very chemistry of our oceans.”
