GOVERNMENT
Nations Urged To Unite in Efforts To Stem Global Climate Change Science, industry, and government leaders discuss actions, policies, leadership needed to avert environmental disasters, face climate issues The next decade will be critical in facing the challenge of global environmental change, according to scientists, industry representatives, and government officials who met in Washington, D.C., earlier this month to discuss the problem. By the turn of the century, they warned, the nations of the world must have mustered the will to take steps to ward off environmental disaster. "The threats to the global climate prove beyond a doubt that, if everyone does as they please in the short run, we will all be losers in the long run," said Norway's prime minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, in her keynote address to the "Forum on Global Change and Our Common Future." "We need to develop a more global mentality in charting the course towards the future, and we need sound scientific advice and firm political a n d i n s t i t u t i o n a l leadership." Scientists at the symposium—sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Sigma Xi—reviewed the data that link the accumulation of trace gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases to ozone depletion and global warming. They also bemoaned their lack of knowledge about the complex interactions among Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere. "What really concerns me as a 18
May 15, 1989C&EN
scientist," says Francis Bretherton, director of the space science and engineering center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, "is how totally inadequate is our understanding to answer any but the very broadest of questions, like 'Will the Earth warm up?' All the specifics are missing. Under these circumstances, a real organized program of global change research is an investment that \ye as a country and a society simply cannot afford not to make."
Among speakers at forum on climate change were (clockwise from above): U.S.'s Corell, Norway's Brundtland, and Switzerland's Holdgate But much of the meeting focused on the necessity of developing policies to limit global change despite the inability to predict rigorously what changes the future holds in store. "The options for action must be considered now, in parallel with the development of further science that will reduce the uncertainties," says Martin Holdgate, director general of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature & Natural Resources in Switzerland.
The mood at the meeting alternated between optimism and despair. The optimism arose from knowledge that some actions that slow global change—such as energy conservation—could be put in place right away. The conferees also took hope from the fact that political leaders are growing more concerned about global environmental concerns. The despair stemmed from recognition of the difficulty of designing and implementing other strate-
gies to limit the buildup of trace gases in the atmosphere. And even if drastic measures were taken immediately, the world would not escape some measure of ozone depletion and global warming caused by the CFCs and greenhouse gases that have already accumulated. Noting that slowing the buildup of carbon dioxide is the biggest challenge, Holdgate proposed that the industrialized nations set a goal of halving their carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2020. "That will make room for Third World growth without environmental disaster," he said, pointing out that the one quarter of the world's population that lives in industrialized countries contributes three fourths of the greenhouse gas emissions. Holdgate suggested a series of strategies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions including improved efficiency in production and use of energy from fossil fuels; reforestation; energy generation from organic wastes; substitution of fuels like natural gas for coal; removal of carbon dioxide from power station flue gases; more efficient use of fuel in transportation; the development of renewable energy sources, like hydro, wind, wave, geothermal, and solar; and increased use of nuclear power. Brundtland, Holdgate, and other speakers called repeatedly for international cooperation in working toward solutions for global change issues. Negotiations leading to an international treaty that could protect climate were proposed. And the United Nations Security Council, Holdgate suggested, could periodically review major environmental issues of global concern that might threaten peace and security. The consensus, it seems, is that environmental problems are now a focus of international concern as worthy of attention by world leaders as, say, arms control. "Foreign affairs have been dominated by se. curity issues and economic issues/' says Robert Corell, assistant director for geosciences at the National Science Foundation. "The environment is going to join as a third partner. This truly is a significant development of political thought." PamelaZurer
Federal alert— new legislation This C&EN listing highlights legislation introduced between Feb. 22 and March 31. House and Senate bills are listed under subject area by number, primary sponsor, and committee(s) to which they were referred. HOUSE Education. H.R. 1217—Slaughter (R.-Va.). Establishes science, mathematics, and research technologies scholarship program; Science, Space & Technology. H.R. 1293—Boehlert (R.-N.Y.). Establishes NSF awards program for undergraduate students willing to commit themselves to teaching elementary or secondary science, mathematics for specified period of time; Science, Space & Technology. Energy. H.R. 1595—Sharp (D.-lnd.). Eliminates wellhead price controls on first sale of natural gas; Energy & Commerce. Environment. H.R. 1056—Eckhart (D.-Ohio). Requires federal facilities to comply with federal, state, local waste disposal laws, imposes penalties for noncompliance; Energy & Commerce. H.R. 1078—Schneider (R.-R.l.). Requires 20% reduction in C0 2 emissions by year 2000, phases out use of CFCs by 1995, provides for increased research on renewable energy sources; Energy & Commerce, Science, Space & Technology, Ways & Means.
Taxes. H.R. 1112—Stark (D.-Calif.). Imposes manufacturer's excise tax on sale of chemicals that deplete stratospheric ozone layer and on products containing such chemicals; Ways & Means SENATE Environment. S. 491—Chafee (R.-R.l.). Calls for eliminating use of five CFCs, halons, methyl chloroform no later than 1997; Environment & Public Works. S. 644—McCain (R.-Ariz.). Gives Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering & Technology responsibility for coordinating, developing, and implementing federal research on CFCs and ozone depletion; Commerce, Science & Transportation. S. 585—Lautenberg (D.-N.J.). Requires EPA to establish multimedia pollution prevention office, establishes source reduction clearinghouse to disseminate information provided by industry on reduction technologies; Environment & Public Works. S. 657—Mitchell (D.-Me.). Expands, strengthens EPA research program on indoor air contaminants, requires development of "health advisories" for such contaminants; Environment & Public Works. S. 676—Baucus (D.-Mont.). Eliminates all use of CFCs by year 2000, sets standards to control emissions of C0 2 resulting from burning of fossil fuels, of methane from gas production, landfills; Environment & Public Works. Health. S. 582—Metzenbaum (D.-Ohio). Requires NIOSH to identify and notify workers who are at risk of developing an occupation-related disease; Labor & Human Resources.
H.R. 1268—Scheuer (D.-N.Y.). Establishes national policy for conservation of biological diversity, research program on conservation, sustainable use of biotic resources; Science, Space & Technology, Merchant Marine & Fisheries.
Nuclear. S. 446—Metzenbaum (D.-Ohio). Gives Attorney General authority to sue federal nuclear facility contractors for gross negligence, willful misconduct, sets maximum penalty of one year's value of contract; Energy & Natural Resources.
H.R. 1489—Sikorski (D.-Minn.). Requires reductions from current levels of 10 million tons of S0 2 , 4 million tons of NOx emissions by 1998; Energy & Commerce.
Occupational Safety & Health Administration. S. 490—Lautenberg (D.-N.J.). Increases OSHA's civil penalties from $1000 to $3000 per violation, from $10,000 to $30,000 for each "willful or repeated" violation; Labor & Human Resources.
Intellectual property. H.R. 1556—Kastenmeier (D.-Wis.). Reaffirms patent office decision to issue patents on genetically altered animals, states human beings are not patentable subject matter, authorizes deposit of biological materials in patent office; Judiciary. Labor. H.R. 1393—Brennan (D.-Me.). Makes it unfair labor practice for employer to hire, or threaten to hire, permanent replacement workers during first 10 weeks of any strike; Education & Labor. Pesticides. H.R. 1508—Sikorski (D.-Minn.). Terminates food tolerance for daminozide; Energy & Commerce. Radon. H.R. 1363—Sensenbrenner (R.-Wis.). Provides tax relief to individuals who take measures to prevent radon from entering their homes; Ways & Means.
Taxes. S. 570—Danforth (R.-Mo.). Makes 20% research and experimentation tax credit scheduled to expire at end of 1989 permanent, extends credit benefits to startup firms; Finance. Technology transfer. S. 550—Domenici (R.-N.M.). Gives national laboratory directors authority to negotiate cooperative research agreements with universities, private companies, to negotiate terms for transferring to industry commercial rights to unclassified innovations generated at labs; Energy & Natural Resources. Volunteers. S. 520—DeConcini (D.-Ariz.). Grants volunteers of nonprofit organizations immunity from civil liability when they are acting in good faith and within scope of their official functions; Judiciary.
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