SENATE-Friday, June 8, 1990

13460 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE June 8, 1990 SENATE-Friday, June 8, 1990 <Legislative day of Wednesday, April18, 1990) The Senate met at 10 a.m., on the beyond 11 a.m., with Senators permit tional surveys and all of the literature expiration of the recess, and was ted to speak therein for up to 5 min and all of the reporting. called to order by the Acting President utes each. At 11 a.m., the Senate will The report released this morning pro tempore [Mr. BRYANl. resume consideration of S. 341, the contains the new assessment which is, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem blind air passengers bill. as I say, the first update in 10 years, pore. The Reverend Richard C. Hal and it shows that tropical rain forests verson, Jr., of Falls Church, VA, will RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME are now vanishing at a rate not of 28 lead us in prayer. million acres per year, but 40 million Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, Ire to 50 million acres per year. In other PRAYER serve the remainder of my leader time words, instead of losing one acre of The Reverend Richard C. Halverson, and I reserve all the leader time of the rain forest per second, the world is Jr., Chesterbrook Presbyterian distinguished Republican leader. now losing one acre and a half of rain Church, Falls Church, VA, offered the The ACTING PRESIDENT protem forest per second. following prayer: pore. Without objection, it is so or dered. These new findings, which are con It is a privilege to be here. servative in their use of the basic num Let us pray: bers involved, are based on new land Father in Heaven, I am making this MORNING BUSINESS based and satellite sensing studies prayer on behalf of everyone here re The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem showing that tropical deforestation gardless of their degree of spirituality. pore. Under the previous order, there rates are nearly 50 percent faster than And I am asking You for the power to will now be a period for the transac the earlier estimates. It means that influence for good the most difficult tion of morning business, not to every year, instead of losing an acre of mission field in the world, the mission extend beyond the hour of 11 a.m., rain forest the size of the State of field of ourselves. with Senators permitted to speak Tennessee, as I have been saying when Some here may consider themselves therein for not to exceed 5 minutes. using the old figures, the world is religious, many I am sure, do not feel The Chair recognizes the Senator losing an area of rain forest each year worthy even to call on Your name. from Tennessee [Mr. GORE]. the size of the State of Washington. And we realize that often we are the Mr. GORE. Mr. President, I ask The latest figures show accelerated worst enemy of ourselves and of You. unanimous consent that I be allowed forest loss in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Yet how can we carry on a relation to speak for an additional 5 minutes. Myanmar-known to many of us by its ship, if we can't relate to ourselves? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem older name, Burma-Thailand and And how can we manage a family, if pore. Without objection, it is so or Costa Rica. In 1987, when Brazilian we can't rule ourselves? And how can dered. Government policies caused the coun we conduct our business, if we can't try to experience a peak year of defor govern ourselves? estation, the rate of loss was as much Grant us, therefore, the power of REPORT OF THE WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE as 80 percent higher than earlier esti self-control. And teach us the secret of mates. being at peace with ourselves. Knock Mr. GORE. Mr. President, I would Mr. President, I would like to refer on the door of many hearts here that like to speak this morning about some to this chart prepared on the basis of we might open within, and invite You of the trends in global environment the study released by the World Re into the counsel of our innermost that have been reported this morning sources Institute this morning. being. In Christ's name we pray. in a just-released study from the The chart shows annual tropical de Amen. World Resources Institute entitled forestation in eight key countries. The "World Resources, 1990-91." Some of the new findings in areas such as eight countries are Vietnam, Costa RECOGNITION OF THE global deforestation, greenhouse gas Rica, Brazil, the Philippines, India, In MAJORITY LEADER emissions, and degradation of water donesia, Thailand, and Myanmar. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem resources are truly astonishing and The lefthand side of this chart pore. The majority leader is recog quite alarming. In my remarks this shows the old estimate which was nized. morning I will be drawing directly alarming enough, the one acre per from the material that was issued by second estimate. This is an illustration the World Resources Institute in con of how much tropical forest area was THE JOURNAL junction with their new study. lost in these eight countries during the Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, I First of all, I would like to address years 1981 through 1985. The right ask unanimous consent that the Jour the subject of deforestation. Until hand side of the chart shows the dra nal of the proceedings be approved to now, the most authoritative estimate matic increases according to this new date. of annual deforestation in the tropics updated study that shows the trou The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem has been 28 million acres per year. bling, indeed shocking, acceleration in pore. Without objection, it is so or A lot of us have used a figure that is the rate of deforestation. dered. derived from 28 million acres per year In Brazil, for example, from 1981 to when we say one acre of rain forest is 1985, the annual rate was this much, being destroyed every second. Well, and the more recent estimate shows SCHEDULE where does that number come from? It that it is now this much. Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, this is based on an extensive assessment In fact, according to this new study, morning following the time for the made 10 years ago by the United Na the total amount of carbon dioxide two leaders there will be a period for tions Food and Agricultural Organiza put into the atmosphere by Brazil morning business not to extend tion when it examined all of the na- during 1987 exceeded the total amount e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. June 8, 1990 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE 13461 of carbon dioxide put into the atmos a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide than does the United States in this phere by the United States of Amer equivalents emitted each year. That is study, and that is the country of Laos, ica. the measure of greenhouse gas emis Mr. President, called officially the Lao The major cause of deforestation, sions most commonly used. Second is People's Democratic Republic. That is according to World Resources Insti the European Community; third is the because of forest burning. tute, is the permanent conversion of U.S.S.R.; fourth is Brazil; fifth is Also, the No. 2 and 3 ranking go to forest land to agriculture land, al China; sixth and seventh, closely Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, though logging practices, especially in grouped together, are India and which comes about because of the flar Southeast Asia, and the demand for Japan. And then, although there are ing of natural gas and the huge energy fuel wood, especially in Africa, are also smaller figures overall from these consumption per capita in those coun serious factors. The problem has been other nations, taken as a group, they tries with a surfeit of natural gas and exacerbated almost everywhere, it ap now represent a very large source of pears, by government policies as well greenhouse gas emissions. oil. as by population pressure, poverty, Mr. President, the role played by de Qatar has per capita greenhouse gas and a maldistribution of land and veloping countries is now much larger emissions of 9. 7 tons each year per wealth and debt burdens which have than had been supposed prior to the person, and the United Arab Emirates, forced many of these countries to ac completion of this study, according to 6.4 tons per person per year. celerate the conversion of forest land the new index. This measures not only If you have ever seen this photo to agriculture land in order to grow carbon dioxide, but also methane and graph taken by satellite, Mr. Presi cash crops as a means of servicing chlorofluorocarbons. Each of the gases dent, of the world at night, it shows their debt and earning hard curren is weighted by its heat-trapping poten the major cities, the outlines of the cies. tial, and that explains the use of this continents illuminated by the lights of The pressures on tropical forests are term "carbon dioxide equivalents." cities. In the Middle East, in the oil expected to increase even more with According to this index, as I said, producing countries, there are these the rapid population explosion in the the United States is in first place. The bright flares of light that dominate developing world. total amount added to the atmosphere that part of the Earth's picture be At the present time, Mr.

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