Pelosi Speech to League of Conservation Voters on Global Warming

    WASHINGTON, April 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi
 spoke at a League of Conservation Voters' dinner at Union Station in
 Washingtonthis evening. Below are her remarks as prepared:
     "Thank you for that kind introduction, Gene Karpinski.
     "I would also like to acknowledge the leadership of Bill Roberts,
 Chairman of the LCV board.
     "I come here tonight grateful for the powerful advocacy of the League
 of Conservation Voters in the fight to preserve our planet for future
 generations. I think it is appropriate to cite a Native American saying
 that, 'The real owners of the land are not yet born.'
     "Our future generations must be first and foremost in our minds as we
 consider the conclusions of the scientific community: the planet is
 warming, human activity is responsible, and the effects are already evident
 around us.
     "The new U.N. report on global warming in North America predicts more
 economic damage from severe weather, flooding along our coastlines, drought
 and water shortages, disruption of ecosystems, and lives lost due to heat
 waves, storms, infections diseases, and urban air pollution.
     "We know that the effects will greater in less developed countries, and
 the ability to adapt will be greatly limited by poverty in those countries.
     "Global warming is one of the greatest challenges we face. Its
 repercussions will be as global as our entire world and as local as our
 neighborhoods -- so too must our solutions be.
     SELECT COMMITTEE
     "One of my first decisions as Speaker was to elevate the issue of
 climate change with a committee that would work across committee
 jurisdictions and around the world to find solutions -- so I formed the
 Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
     "With the environmental champion Congressman Ed Markey as Chairman,
 this select committee will play a key role in raising the visibility of
 energy independence and global warming, informing the Congress and the
 public, developing policy recommendations, and assuring we make real
 progress in blunting the harsh consequences of global warming over the next
 two years.
     "The committee is planning field hearings to look at the coastal
 impacts of climate change, hearings in Washington on topics such as the
 importance of state and local government involvement in climate change, and
 trips abroad to study evidence of global warming and meet with foreign
 policymakers.
     "This month, the Select Committee began its hearings, which will
 continue throughout the 110th Congress. Last week, the committee held a
 hearing featuring retired generals and admirals testifying on the national
 security challenges of climate change.
     "The committee will share its findings with the legislative committees
 of the House and with the public, and will make a special effort to
 communicate with younger Americans by using the most cutting-edge
 technology.
     GREEN THE CAPITOL
     "In tackling the challenge of global warming, the House must lead by
 example. It is time for Congress to act on its own carbon footprint. I
 applaud the efforts of Senator BarbaraBoxer for taking the first step of
 the new Congress by converting key offices to energy efficient lighting and
 putting forward legislation to promote energy efficiency in federal
 buildings.
     "Just last week, I was proud to join other House leaders in announcing
 a 'Green the Capitol Initiative,' which will result in us operating the
 House in a carbon neutral manner at the earliest possible date, but
 certainly by the end of the 110th Congress.
     "With our initiative to green the Capitol, the Capitol will be not just
 a shining symbol of our democracy, but a symbol of our commitment to the
 future.
     "We will adopt innovative solutions, such as purchasing 100 percent
 renewable electric power, ensuring wood for our furniture is sustainably
 harvested, and conducting a comprehensive review of our recycling
 initiative. We are also looking at converting the Capitol Power Plant to a
 combined heat and power system, which would generate electricity and useful
 heat at the same time, as well as ways to improve the House office building
 ventilation system, which will yield energy and electricity savings.
     JULY 4th PACKAGE
     "In the first 100 hours that House Democrats were in the majority, we
 passed legislation to repeal $14 billion in subsidies for Big Oil and shift
 those resources to investments in clean, alternative fuels, renewable
 energy, and energy efficiency.
     "That was just the beginning of our commitment to reducing greenhouse
 gas emissions and making America more energy independent.
     "From the Agriculture Committee to the Ways and Means Committee, to
 everyone in between, House committees are working diligently to report
 significant energy and global warming legislation this summer.
     "Our committees will be proposing a wide variety of solutions to our
 global challenges. Now that we have begun greening the Capitol, we will be
 working to green the federal government. We will expand and increase
 investments in renewable energy initiatives, including tax incentives that
 are essential to the continued rapid development of the renewable energy
 and energy efficiency industries. As part of our Innovation Agenda, we will
 create an advanced research project to develop cutting-edge new
 clean-energy technologies.
     "House Democratic leadership will be working hand in glove with the
 committees, to unveil a package for July 4th - 'Energy' Independence Day.
     "It is so exciting to stand before you as Speaker of the House, and
 know that because of all our hard work together we have elected a Congress
 that takes real action on behalf of our beautiful planet.
     "The days of rejecting the science of global warming are over, as are
 the days of standing idly by. We are now charging ahead to tackle one of
 humanity's greatest challenges yet - global warming.
     "We will do this because we hold our children's future in our hands --
 not our grandchildren, or great-grandchildren, but our own children.
     "As it says in the Old Testament, 'To minister to the needs of God's
 creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God
 who made us.'
     "Thank you."
     Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami, 202-226-7616
 
 

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House