Bush: 'I have said consistently that global warming is a serious problem'

RAW STORY
Published: Monday June 26, 2006

President Bush today told reporters that, though he believes there is no reason to debate the cause of global warming, he has "said consistently that global warming is a serious problem," RAW STORY has learned.

The President's remarks follow:

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QUESTION: I know you are not planning to see Al Gore's new movie, but do you agree with the premise that global warming is a real and significant threat to the planet --

BUSH: I think it's -- I have said consistently that global warming is a serious problem. There's a debate over where it's man-made or naturally caused. We ought to get beyond that debate and start implementing that -- the technologies necessary to -- to enable us to achieve a couple of big objectives: one, be good stewards of the environment; two, become less dependent on foreign sources of oil, for economic reasons and for national security reasons.

That's why we're pressing for clean coal technology. That's why the hydrogen initiative is -- is robust. In other words, we want our children being able to drive cars not fueled by gasoline but by hydrogen. That's why I've been a strong advocate of ethanol as an alternative source of -- of fuel to run our cars.

I strongly believe that we ought to be developing, you know, safe nuclear power. The truth of the matter is, if this country was -- it wants to get rid of its greenhouse gases, we got to have nuclear power industry be vibrant and viable.

And so I believe in -- and I've got a plan to be able to deal with greenhouse gases.