Majority of Senate says climate change is real and human-driven

Most U.S. senators now agree on two things about climate change: That it is driven by humans, and that it is not a hoax. Getting to that point during a series of votes on amendments for Keystone XL pipeline legislation was tortuous for Democrats and Republicans alike. "I'm not sure that there were any clear expectations, but I think the way the day transpired was productive but it was also fascinating," Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told reporters. "We made good progress today and we were pretty pleased there is an emerging bipartisan group of people who believe climate change is real, is caused by humans and is solvable." Fifty senators, including five Republicans, agreed that climate change was real, human-induced and solvable on Schatz's amendment, though it failed because it needed 60 votes to pass. The Republicans who backed the amendment were Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Susan Collins of Maine. Democrats hoped the Schatz amendment and another from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., would put Republicans on record regarding climate change. Scientists say climate change is driven by humans, largely by burning greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels, and many GOP lawmakers are skeptical of that science. A separate amendment from Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., that also said climate change was occurring and humans contributed to it — though without the word "significantly," as Schatz's amendment said — narrowly failed by one vote, a result that Hoeven aided by switching his vote against the measure. Fifteen Republicans voted for the amendment, which lifted language from the State Department's environmental review that said Keystone XL wouldn't have a significant impact on emissions. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also voted against the amendment because he said he doesn't agree with the State findings. The vote on the Hoeven amendment illustrated the uncomfortable position Democrats had sought to put their GOP colleagues in by adding climate change amendments to the Keystone XL bill...more