Extensive R&D Needed to Defeat Global Warming

March 15, 2021 by Tom Ramstack
Extensive R&D Needed to Defeat Global Warming
The sun rises amid city smog. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

WASHINGTON — Weeks after Congress approved legislation that dedicates $35 billion to promote energy efficiency, lawmakers forged ahead Friday to determine how they will spend it.

They hope to push the U.S. economy toward more renewable energy while moving away from fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions.

Some Democrats said an ambitious environmental policy could help in the recovery from the recession created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Addressing the climate crisis is a unique opportunity to get America back to work,” said Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, who chairs the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

The Energy Act of 2020 Congress approved in late December integrates more than 60 bills to authorize research and development of emissions-reducing technologies. It creates dozens of opportunities for the Biden administration to invest in these technologies. 

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee is one of the lead committees to decide how the technologies are funded.

Some of the proposals are similar to goals of the Green New Deal, which seeks to transition the United States to 100% renewable, zero-emission energy sources.

It would use government regulations and investment to create incentives for electric cars and high-speed rail systems. It would impose a “social cost of carbon” through fees or fines on industries that emit greenhouse gases.

Authors of the Green New Deal say the costs to the economy would be offset by new environmental jobs.

Republicans say the plan would increase the national debt to the point it could overwhelm the rest of the U.S. economy.

Witnesses at the House hearing Friday spent most of their time talking about the dangers of global warming rather than specific funding proposals.

Michael Oppenheimer, a geosciences professor at Princeton University, told the committee that in 2020, the earth maintained a record temperature averaging 2-degrees Fahrenheit higher than the early industrial era.

“Associated with this warming, pervasive changes have been detected in many features of Earth’s climate system, including more frequent hot days and nights and fewer extremely cold ones, increases in the frequency, intensity and amount of heavy precipitation events, greater intensity and duration of drought in some regions, increase in the intensity of North Atlantic hurricanes and sea levels rising nearly worldwide,” Oppenheimer said in his testimony.

Zeke Hausfather, a policy analyst for the Oakland, Calif.-based environmental research group the Breakthrough Institute, suggested a multi-faceted approach to reducing greenhouse gases.

“We shouldn’t put all our hopes into a single future technology,” Hausfather said.

He advocated for electric vehicles, solar energy, a new generation of efficient nuclear reactors and carbon capture technology that traps carbon dioxide from industrial emissions.

“But as long as emissions remain above net-zero, the world will continue to warm,” Hausfather said.

Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., cautioned that any congressional approach to climate change should be based on incentives and technology development rather than regulation.

“America’s clean energy future is driven by innovation, not by mandates,” Lucas said.

Strict government regulation to clamp down on greenhouse gas emissions could hurt U.S. international competitiveness, especially against China, he said.

“We can do this without raising energy prices and hurting American consumers,” Lucas said.

A+
a-
  • climate
  • climate change
  • Congress
  • Global warminig
  • House Science Space and Technology Committee
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Science

    Some Australian Dolphins Use Sponges to Hunt Fish, but It's Harder Than It Looks

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Some dolphins in Australia have a special technique to flush fish from the seafloor. They hunt with a sponge... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Some dolphins in Australia have a special technique to flush fish from the seafloor. They hunt with a sponge on their beak, like a clown nose. Using the sponge to protect from sharp rocks, the dolphins swim with their beaks covered, shoveling through rubble at the bottom of... Read More

    July 10, 2025
    by Cameron Glymph
    Capitol Hill Gathering Highlights the Impact of Canceled Research Grants 

    WASHINGTON — Kimiko Krieger, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, moved from Texas to Maryland... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Kimiko Krieger, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, moved from Texas to Maryland last year with the promise of research funding for five years through the National Institutes of Health.  However, shortly after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January,... Read More

    Thimerosal: What to Know About the Preservative From a Bygone Flu-Shot Debate

    (AP) — The Trump administration’s vaccine advisers are bringing up an old flu-shot debate: whether it’s time to wipe out the last... Read More

    (AP) — The Trump administration’s vaccine advisers are bringing up an old flu-shot debate: whether it’s time to wipe out the last small fraction of those vaccines that contain a controversial preservative called thimerosal. It’s a question seemingly laid to rest years ago, as studies showed no evidence... Read More

    International Space Station Welcomes First Astronauts From India, Poland and Hungary

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International... Read More

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private flight. The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of... Read More

    Astronomers Create a Dazzling, Elaborate Map of Nearby Galaxy in Thousands of Colors

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have revealed a nearby spiral galaxy in all its brilliant glory, shining in thousands of colors.... Read More

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have revealed a nearby spiral galaxy in all its brilliant glory, shining in thousands of colors. The dazzling panoramic shot released Wednesday of the Sculptor galaxy by a telescope in Chile is so detailed that it's already serving as a star-packed map. Scientists used... Read More

    Kennedy Picks for CDC Panel Proudly Boast Vaccine Skepticism

    WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has chosen eight new members for the panel of experts that advises... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has chosen eight new members for the panel of experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy, including a number of well-known vaccine skeptics. The panel, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices,... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top