We now have incontrovertible evidence that the atmosphere is indeed changing and that we ourselves contribute to that change … A wait-and-see policy may mean waiting until it is too late.
Environmental concerns about global warming escalated in the 1970s. Scientific consensus recognized increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, linked to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and land exploitation, as a primary cause. Slowing the progress of climate change and adapting to any already unavoidable consequences would require profound national and international policy action. As one of the nation’s largest energy producers and consumers, Texas found itself at the center of this global conversation.
On June 12, 1992, more than 150 nations signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an environmental treaty committed to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol mandated reduction targets for industrialized parties. The United States signed but did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol, signaling a growing political resistance to climate action. Within weeks of taking office, President George W. Bush reversed the national policy on global warming and announced he would not enact the agreement.
Environmental concerns about global warming escalated in the 1970s. Scientific consensus recognized increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, linked to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and land exploitation, as a primary cause. Slowing the progress of climate change and adapting to any already unavoidable consequences would require profound national and international policy action. As one of the nation’s largest energy producers and consumers, Texas found itself at the center of this global conversation.
On June 12, 1992, more than 150 nations signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an environmental treaty committed to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol mandated reduction targets for industrialized parties. The United States signed but did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol, signaling a growing political resistance to climate action. Within weeks of taking office, President George W. Bush reversed the national policy on global warming and announced he would not enact the agreement.
Environmental concerns about global warming escalated in the 1970s. Scientific consensus recognized increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, linked to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and land exploitation, as a primary cause. Slowing the progress of climate change and adapting to any already unavoidable consequences would require profound national and international policy action. As one of the nation’s largest energy producers and consumers, Texas found itself at the center of this global conversation.
On June 12, 1992, more than 150 nations signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an environmental treaty committed to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol mandated reduction targets for industrialized parties. The United States signed but did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol, signaling a growing political resistance to climate action. Within weeks of taking office, President George W. Bush reversed the national policy on global warming and announced he would not enact the agreement.
