Science, Climate Change Return to Spotlight in New Congress

The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing on climate change on February 13, 2019 during which experts on sea-level rise and other global warming impacts briefed the panel on the latest climate research. There was a discernible shift from a tone of climate skepticism, which was dominant in the panel’s proceedings over the past 8 years under the leadership of former Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), a climate skeptic. Climate change has been highlighted as a top priority for the 116th Congress by Democratic lawmakers. House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) decided to make climate change the focus during the panels first full hearing. “Though this administration has regrettably chosen to ignore the findings of its own scientists in regards to climate change, we as lawmakers have a responsibility to protect the public’s interest,” she said during the hearing. Among the witnesses, was Dr. Robert Kopp, Director of the Rutgers Institute of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, who stressed the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to as “close to zero as possible.” Dr. Jennifer Francis, Atmospheric Scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center, also served as a witness and warned about the impacts of exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius in warming. Some Republican members of the science panel seem to be warming up to the idea of addressing climate change with pragmatic solutions. The Committee̵...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news