Acknowledging the prospects for legislation were grim this year, nearly one-third of the Senate urged action to combat climate change in a 15-hour overnight session given what they called overwhelming evidence of the need to act. Twenty-nine Democrats and two Independent senators, in 30-minute segments, said the point of the evening was not to push new legislation but rather to raise public awareness of the issue in hopes of passing a comprehensive climate change bill within two or three years. "Tonight is not about a specific legislative proposal," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said. "It's about showing the environmental community, young people and anyone paying attention to climate change that the Senate is starting to stir."
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