WASHINGTON - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the co-author of climate legislation that passed the House in 2009, today had strong words for the climate deniers in Washington who continue to ignore the scientific and economic case to reduce the pollution that is causing global warming. Rep. Markey pointed to the World Meteorological Organization's determination today that 2011 is on track to be the tenth hottest year globally on record, and that the volume of Arctic sea ice is at an all-time low, as the latest in the cascade of facts that should lead international negotiators to take bold action at the UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa.
Rep. Markey also expressed his disappointment about reports that Canada is considering pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, the international pact to cut emissions, saying that the country has now tacitly admitted that its expanded tar sands development creates highly-polluting fuels. The transportation of the fuel through the United States has been a source of controversy with the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
Below is the statement of Rep. Markey, the Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee:
"The latest science and climate observations make it clear that the health of the Earth is on thin ice, and that the climate deniers have actually fallen through the ice. Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail should stop taking the temperature of the feverish Tea Party, and start focusing on the rise in temperature around the globe that is posing a threat to our environment and national security.
"The negotiators in Durban should use this opportunity to take the boldest possible action to reduce the pollution that is heating up our planet.
"That Canada is considering pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol is essentially an admission that their expanded tar sands development poses a grave threat to our climate."
