U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, the Democrat from Hawaii, says that he sees “a glimmer of hope that we may be able to find common ground on some of these issues and begin a serious discussion about tackling American energy policy and climate change.”

According to his office, the senator took to the Senate floor Monday to call for “cooperation in moving forward bipartisan energy policies that address climate change and advance American energy security.”

In making his remarks, Schatz noted that President Barack Obama is expected to soon veto the Keystone pipeline legislation sent to his desk by congressional Republicans.

A pair of king penguins stepping out at Right Whale Bay on South Georgia Island.

Flickr: David Stanley

The senator continued:

So where are we when it comes to American energy policy? The debate that occurred on Keystone was no doubt an important one, but it was exactly upside down. Congress and the media treated the Keystone bill as if it would settle American energy policy once and for all, when in fact it was and is a tiny sliver of the debate. American energy policy is not defined by one project, or one piece of infrastructure, however contentious it may be.

In Schatz’s view, his colleagues must come to agreement on the facts regarding climate change, something he believes the Senate is beginning to do, based on recent votes,

“The wall of denial has begun to crack,” he said. “So now we have a majority, and depending on how it is phrased, even a potential supermajority in the Senate saying that climate change is real.”

Schatz’s full remarks can be viewed on his official website.

Despite Schatz’s optimism, a good many Republicans continue to say they have serious doubts about the science on climate change, and that they worry about the impact on American jobs should the U.S. government do more to mitigate global warming.

Here are three perspectives on the Senate’s votes on climate change last month:

Jim Inhofe flips the script on Democratic climate-change-is-a-hoax vote

Inside the Senate’s big vote on whether climate change is real

Republicans outfox Democrats on climate votes