Senate Resolution Addresses Global Warming

Despite the failure of the United States Senate to pass an amendment that would have established mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions, a resolution expressing concerns about issues related to global warming did receive support by the majority of senators. The Sense of the Senate on Climate Change resolution, sponsored by Jeff Bingaman (D.-N.M.) and Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.), acknowledges that greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere are causing average temperatures to rise at a rate outside the range of natural variability and are posing a substantial risk of rising sea levels, altered patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and increased frequency and severity of floods and droughts. Because of a growing scientific consensus that human activity is a substantial cause of greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere, mandatory steps will be required to slow or stop the growth of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.