Irreversible Does Not Mean Uavoidable--Reject Keystone XL--

Floor Speech

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a member of the Safe Climate Caucus to say that we have now passed 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for the first time in human history--in fact, for the first time in several million years.

This is, indeed, a milestone, but it should not be a breaking point. We have done damage to our climate through human activities. If we continue to fill our atmosphere with carbon and other greenhouse gases, then, yes, we will begin to experience irreversible changes to the planet.

Over the last century, we have demonstrated how human actions--especially the unregulated consumption of fossil fuels--can harm our planet and upset human welfare, as we've seen with historic droughts, fires, floods, and superstorms more and more.

Yesterday, the House again voted to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that represents a long-term reliance on fossil energy and would commit us to the path toward irreversible global warming and climate change.

The political decisions we make today will decide the future. We must reduce our dependence on conventional fuels and redirect our policies.

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