The chairwoman of a key US Senate committee Thursday called Superstorm
Sandy a "turning point" in the debate over climate change while another
committee member said the views of climate change deniers should no longer be
tolerated.
During a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, 18
Senate and House members from the states hardest hit by the October 30 storm
were scheduled to testify about the impact of hurricane-force winds and
flooding. More than a dozen states formally declared states of emergency and
more than 8.5 million customers were without power across 21 states due to
the storm.
Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat and chairwoman of the
committee, called the storm the "turning point in our fight to address
climate change."
"You can close your eyes and cover your ears and put a pillow over your
head, but anyone with a heartbeat and a pulse can tell things are changing,"
Boxer said.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, said in Sandy's
aftermath members of the committee should no longer tolerate the views of
members who deny the impact of human activity on climate change.
"We've tolerated the deniers for far too long in this body," Whitehouse
said, claiming that the fight against climate change legislation was being
led by "polluters" opposed to any new climate change regulation. "We have to
face the fact that the deniers are wrong. They are just plain, dead wrong."
Senator Jim Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican and the ranking member of the
Senate environment committee, has been one of the leading climate change
deniers in the Senate. Due to term limits, Inhofe, who did not appear at
Thursday's hearing, will be replaced as the committee's ranking member in
January by Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican. Vitter's move into
the ranking member's seat has fueled speculation that climate change
legislation will face less resistance from Republicans during the next
congressional session.
In an interview this week, Vitter said that while he shares Inhofe's
skepticism of the effect of human activity on climate change, he likely would
not focus on the issue as much as Inhofe has.
"Where we may differ a little bit is just the time and energy I spend on
that in committee," he said.
Still, Vitter said that any climate change legislation is "really dead
in this congress and the next congress."
While Boxer sees hope for climate change legislation, President Barack
Obama has indicated climate change action will not be a priority of his
second term.
--Brian Scheid, brian_scheid@platts.com
--Edited by Jason Lindquist, jason_lindquist@platts.com