Download Since the advent of the industrial revolution 150

101st CONGRESS
1st SESSION
SENSE OF THE SENATE RESOLUTION
TO S. CON. RES. XXXXXX
To assert the sense of the Senate on United States policy to
reduce the generation of carbon dioxide and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
Mr. Wirth (for himself,
.) submitted the
following resolution; which was ______________________.
RESOLUTION
To assert the sense of the Senate on United States policy to reduce the
generation of carbon dioxide and for other purposes.
FINDINGS.
including
The concentration of the so-called "greenhouse" gases
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons,
tropospheric ozone
is rising;
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Since the advent of the industrial revolution 150 years ago, the
atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent of these
gases, has increased by 25 percent; the concentration of methane has
increased by 100 percent; the concentration of nitrous oxide has
increased by 10 percent; the concentration of CFC's has increased from
zero 60 years ago at an average rate of 5 percent per year; and
concentrations of tropospheric ozone continues to increase by one
percent per year.
The leading scientists of the world, including the National Science
Foundation, have warned policy makers that increased concentrations of
these gases will alter climate; and that such climatic alterations could
have devastating effects on weather patterns, agricultural productivity,
coastal population centers due to rising sea levels, and biological
health;
The majority of these gases are generated in the production of energy;
The Department of Energy's National Energy Policy Plan projects the
United States' generation of carbon dioxide to increase from 1985 levels
by 38 percent in the year 2010;
The leading scientists of the world, including the National Academy of
Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Institute
of Medicine have urged the President to take action to reduce the
generation of these gases by the United States;
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the generation of these gases;
The United States is chair of the Response Strategies Working Group of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was
established by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World
Meterological Organization;
At the first meetings of the IPCC's Response Strategies Working Group,
the Secretary of State urged the nations of the world to act to reduce
the generation of "greenhouse" gases;
It is imperative that the United States and all nations take immediate
steps to protect the global environment.
Action by the United States to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases
will encourage other nations to take similar action to reduce the
generation of these gases.
Now therefore, it is the sense of the Senate that:
United States policy on global warming should be: 1) to reduce
the generation of "greenhouse" gases in the United States; 2) to host,
in 1989, an international summit meeting on global warming and global
environmental concerns;
3) to encourage other nations to undertake
measures to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases;
4) to develop
binding multilateral agreements with other nations by the end of
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calendar year 1992, or as early as is practicable, to, reduce the global
generation of greenhouse gases;
5) to assist in the worldwide
protection of tropical rainforests; 6) to require each federal agency to
examine its programs to determine the impacts of global warming on its
missions and activities and to evaluate and propose policies under its
authority that could reduce the generation of greenhouse gases;
and 7)
to develop new technologies that will provide reliable supplies of
energy and services for the citizens of the United States while reducing
the generation of greenhouse gases.
It is also the sense of the Senate that the United States
government, through its representative to the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, should begin discussions on a "Framework Global Climate
Convention" when it chairs the next meeting of the "Response Strategies
Working Group" in Geneva during the week of May 8, 1989.
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