Global Climate Change

The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee heard testimony from scientists and environmental experts on reports of global changes in climate due to the production and accumulation of “greenhouse” gases. In recent years, concerns have been raised about the accumulation of gases from petroleum and other fossil fuel combustion in the upper atmosphere. It had been theorized that a great accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere will prevent heat loss from the Earth to space, thus creating a warming effect that will have drastic effects on the environment. Skeptics criticized the “greenhouse” effect theory on the grounds that no evidence of a warming trend has been shown to exist, and question the scientific basis for such theories. During the second day of the Economic Summit of the Industrialized Nations, British Prime Minister John Major pushed President George H. W. Bush to create vehicle exhaust regulations to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. close