Opening Statement By Chairman Nick Lampson (Energy and Environment)

This morning we welcome back to the Congress the Honorable Al Gore, the former Vice President of the United States.

Vice President Gore has been a persistent and passionate advocate for environmental issues. As a Member of the House of Representatives he held the first Congressional hearings on what was then a topic that was virtually unknown outside of the scientific community – global warming.

When his book, Earth in the Balance, was published in 1992 it laid out a compelling case for environmental protection and challenged all of us to work to build a more sustainable society. Through his documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, Mr. Gore has reached millions of Americans and has convinced many that global warming is not just a theory put forward by a few scientists, but a reality that we can see the effects of today and that will continue to affect the world into the future.

A number of the predictions for changes in the climate have serious implications for Texas. Increasing hurricane intensity; longer more severe droughts; and sea level rise would all have very serious consequences for the citizens of my state and for our economy.

Even if we did not face the impacts of a changing climate, the depletion of our oil and gas reserves and our reliance on foreign oil and gas supplies presents us with a national security issue that we must address.

Altering our pattern of energy use presents us with a very difficult challenge. However, if we do not begin to find alternative energy sources and to become more energy efficient we face serious consequences for our environment and our economy.

We are the most innovative and powerful economy in the world. We have led the world through many crises over the last 60 years. I believe we can address this challenge if we put the creative energy of our society to work to developing and deploying new technologies that are cleaner and more energy efficient.

I am very pleased to have the former Vice President with us today.

Thank you, Vice President Gore, for your important work on this issue.