Thursday, December 3, 2009

Congressman Blackburn set to wow Scandinavians


From WBIR Knoxville...

Climate change skeptic Blackburn headed to Copenhagen summit

WASHINGTON - Rep. Marsha Blackburn says the only climate change she believes in are the four seasons in her native Tennessee.

So that promises to make her upcoming trip to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen especially interesting.

Blackburn, who is going as part of a congressional delegation, said her role will be to represent a dissenting outlook on whether human activity is causing global warming while still pushing for steps to reduce the carbon emissions that many experts cite as the cause of climate change.

"We're all for cleaner air, cleaner water and creating more clean energy," Blackburn said Thursday.

During the conference, Blackburn plans to push for expansion of nuclear power, a cause also championed by Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. She also will focus on developments in biofuels and lithium-ion batteries for cars. Both are the focus of efforts in Tennessee to create green jobs.

Blackburn will be attending at taxpayer expense in her role as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming. She said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has arranged for two planes to carry the U.S. congressional delegation to the conference.

The climate change conference begins Dec. 7. The goal of the conference is to make progress toward an international treaty to reduce emissions.