1/13/15, "Senate Expected To Vote On Whether Climate Change Is Real, As Part Of Keystone Bill," Huffington Post, Kate Sheppard
"The Senate agreed Tuesday to move to debate on amendments to legislation that would force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, another step toward the anticipated approval of the bill sometime next week.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said debate will be allowed on any amendment put forward, including one from Democrats attempting to put Congress on the record acknowledging that fossil fuels are driving climate change.
"We're wide open," said McConnell at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. "We're not trying to block anybody's amendments."
In committee last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) offered an amendment affirming that "climate change is real," that it is "caused by human activities" and that it is "imperative that the United States transform its energy system away from fossil fuels and toward energy efficiency and sustainable energy."
But the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to table all discussion of amendments until the floor debate on the bill.
Sanders indicated on Tuesday that he plans to offer the measure on the floor. "It's a brief amendment, but it basically raises a very fundamental issue, and that is whether the United States Senate will abide by scientific evidence, will come down on the side of science as we debate this enormously important issue of climate change," he said in a floor speech.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) formally offered several similar measures Tuesday, including one putting the Senate on record that it "should take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions" and another stating that climate change "is real; is caused by humans; is urgent; and is solvable."
Several other members offered amendments, with more than 20 filed by early evening. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) put forward a scaled-back version of his energy efficiency bill as an amendment. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) offered an amendment requiring that the pipeline be built with U.S.-made steel. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) proposed a requirement that the oil transported through the pipeline be used in the United States.
One Republican amendment might create some tension in that party. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) offered measures that would loosen restrictions on the export of crude oil and natural gas. While many in his party are supportive, others worry that such a move might raise oil prices at home. It's unclear if the proposal has the votes to pass at this time.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, strongly supports the lifting of the crude exports ban, but acknowledged that appending it to the Keystone bill could make advancing both issues somewhat more difficult.
"I think it might complicate our debate on Keystone and the passage of Keystone," Murkowski told reporters Tuesday.
"Although I will tell you, when you have as strong a vote as we had yesterday, I think it's clear the votes are there to pass the Keystone bill in the Senate."
But she said she would not turn away Cruz's measure. "I really don't want to dissuade members from amendments. This is what this full and open and transparent process is all about," said Murkowski.
"I'm not going to go systematically through the roster and say I don't think you should do yours." Cruz and Murkowski, of course, both represent major oil-producing states.
Votes on the Keystone bill's amendments are not expected until next Tuesday, as Republicans are in a caucus retreat on Wednesday and Thursday, and next Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day."
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Comment: US politicians including Mitch McConnell with his 1992 vote built the CO2 industry from scratch and aren't about to end the greatest cash cow ever invented--especially one that's based on demonizing Americans. Apparently there are no amendments calling for an end to daily gifts of millions of US taxpayer dollars to the global warming industry while real problems are left to starve, that no warming has taken place for at least 15 years, and none is anticipated until 2033 if ever. Nor any stating that even if CO2 caused global warming, China controls global CO2, opens new coal plants every week, and its CO2 will skyrocket for many years. The US has long led the world in CO2 reduction, and even if Americans committed mass suicide, it wouldn't make a dent in global CO2.
BBC: Global warming pause could last to 2033:
Global warming has been on "hiatus" for at least 15 years and scientists say "the slowdown" may continue until at least 2033, Greenland isn't about to melt:
"Cooling periods associated with the latter deeper heat-sequestration mechanism historically lasted 20 to 35 years." Meaning ongoing pause could continue until 2033 (1998 + 35= 2033).
8/21/14, "Global warming slowdown 'could last another decade'," BBC, Matt McGrath
"The hiatus in the rise in global temperatures could last for another 10 years, according to new research."...
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Image from 1/27/14, "China’s Growing Coal Use Is World’s Growing Problem," ClimateCentral.org, Eric Larson
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6/4/12, "Climate change stunner: USA leads world in CO2 cuts since 2006," Vancouver Observer, Saxifrage
"Not only that, but as my top chart shows, US CO2 emissions are falling even faster than what President Obama pledged in the global Copenhagen Accord."...Here is the biggest shocker of all: the average American’s CO2 emissions are down to levels not seen since 1964 --over half a century ago.…Coal is the number two source of CO2 for Americans. Today the average American burns an amount similar to what they did in 1955, and even less than they did in the 1940s.…It is exactly America’s historical role of biggest and dirtiest that makes their sharp decline in CO2 pollution so noteworthy and potentially game changing at the global level.”...
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Change in global CO2, US v China, 2005 to 2011, energy related, US EIA (US Energy Dept.), WSJ, April 2013
4/18/13, "Rise in U.S. Gas Production Fuels Unexpected Plunge in Emissions," WSJ, Russell Gold
"U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions have fallen dramatically in recent years, in large part because the country is making more electricity with natural gas instead of coal."...
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"Non-scientist" Republican Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell kicked off the multi-trillion dollar global warming industry with his October 15, 1992 'yes' vote approving the UNFCCC global warming treaty which states that harmful "warming of the earth's surface and atmosphere" is ongoing and that humans from "developed countries" (ie, the US) are responsible for "the largest share" of it:
"The George H.W. Bush administration signed the UNFCCC in Rio on June 12, 1992, and the U.S. Senate ratified it unanimously shortly thereafter, on October 15, 1992."...
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About the 1992 UN treaty:
"United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change," unfccc.int
"Acknowledging that change in the Earth's climate and its adverse effects are a common concern of humankind,
Concerned that human activities have been substantially increasing the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, that these increases enhance the natural greenhouse effect, and that this will result on average in an additional warming of the Earth's surface and atmosphere and may adversely affect natural ecosystems and humankind,
Noting that the largest share of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse gases has orginiated in developed countries that per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low and that the share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to meet their social and development needs"...
"Definitions: For the purposes of this Convention:"...
2. "Climate change" means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods."...
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"Maurice Strong with US Secretary of State [under George H.W. Bush] Condoleezza Rice," mauricestrong.net
In 1992 Pres. George HW Bush flew to Rio with his EPA chief--hand picked while serving as WWF president. Fellow WWF member Maurice Strong was chief promoter of the UN Rio agreement:
"Maurice Strong has played a unique and critical role is globalizing the environmental movement. Secretary General of both the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, which launched the world environment movement, and the 1992 Rio Environmental Summit, he was the first Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)."...
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Added: $1 billion to $2 billion a day flows to the human caused global warming industry. Pretty good for something that doesn't exist.
Two recent citations for $2 billion figure:
12/5/14, "India contests UN report on climate financing," financialexpress.com, PTI, Lima, Peru
"India today contested a landmark UN report that said a whopping USD 650 billion was spent for projects aimed at adaptation and emissions reduction between 2011-2012.
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The report was presented at the UN Climate Convention Summit here yesterday by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Standing Committee on Finance.
“Finance for climate action flowing globally stood at USD 650 billion annually in 2011-2012, and possibly higher,” the report said.
Annual public and private flows from developed to developing countries ranged from USD 40 billion to USD 175 billion, it said.
Reacting to the UNFCCC report, India said the figure actually ranges from USD 340 billion to USD 650 billion, given gaps in data."...
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12/3/14, "Finance for Climate Action Flowing Globally," UNFCCC PRESS RELEASE, COMPILED ON BEHALF OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, Lima, Peru
"Hundreds of billions of dollars of climate finance may now be flowing across the globe annually according to a landmark assessment presented today to governments meeting in Lima, Peru at the UN Climate Convention meeting....
The assessment puts the lower range of global total climate finance flows at $340 billion a year for the period 2011-2012, with the upper end at $650 billion, and possibly higher."...
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