IV 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 989 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 16, 2009 Mr. Inslee (for himself, Mr. Markey of Massachusetts, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Baird, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Langevin, Ms. Hirono, Mrs. Capps, Mr. George Miller of California, Ms. Shea-Porter, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Honda, Mr. Wu, Ms. Speier, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Farr, Mr. Dicks, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Adler of New Jersey, and Mr. Holt) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should adopt national policies and pursue international agreements to prevent ocean acidification, to study the impacts of ocean acidification, and to address the effects of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and coastal economies.

Whereas the world’s oceans have absorbed more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution; Whereas the increased absorption of carbon dioxide by the world’s oceans alters the form of nutrients and chemicals in the oceans and results in ocean acidification; Whereas ocean acidification threatens carbonate-forming species such as coral, shellfish, and marine plankton, and may cause major ripple effects throughout marine ecosystems and food webs, ultimately affecting the largest marine organisms and many commercial fisheries; Whereas ocean acidification will affect the growth, reproduction, disease resistance, and other biological and physiological processes of many marine organisms; Whereas ocean acidification will be accelerated in Arctic waters because carbon dioxide is more soluble in colder waters and lower salinity diminishes the capacity of oceans to buffer against acidification; Whereas over 60 percent of the United States population lives in coastal States and could be affected by changes to marine ecosystems; Whereas coastal communities depend on revenue from the fishing and tourism industries, which rely on the health and stability of marine ecosystems; Whereas commercial and recreational fisheries contribute more than $73,000,000,000 annually to the United States economy and support more than 2,000,000 jobs in the United States; Whereas coastal tourism and recreation produce $70,000,000,000 in annual revenue in the United States; Whereas coral ecosystems are a source of food for millions; protect coastlines from storms and erosion; provide habitat, spawning, and nursery grounds for economically important fish species; provide jobs and income to local economies from fishing, recreation, and tourism; are a source of new medicines; and are hotspots of marine biodiversity; Whereas 500,000,000 people worldwide rely on reefs for food, income, and protection; Whereas coral reefs support an estimated 25 percent of marine species globally and produce a net global economic benefit of about $30,000,000,000 per year; Whereas if current trends in global emissions of carbon dioxide continue, corals could be functionally extinct by the middle to the end of this century; and Whereas the Congress has recognized the need to address the impacts of ocean acidification by enacting the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 as part of Public Law 111–11: Now, therefore be it

That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should adopt national policies and pursue international agreements to prevent ocean acidification, to study the impacts of ocean acidification, and to address the effects of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and coastal economies.