[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 156 (Thursday, December 6, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7676-S7677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     EXTREME WEATHER/CLIMATE CHANGE

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I met with Jo Ellen Darcy, the Assistant 
Secretary for the Army Corps of Engineers. She came to my office last 
week to discuss the low levels of water on the Mississippi River. This 
week the National Weather Service reported the river was 4 feet below 
its average water level at this time of year. I saw it last Friday when 
I drove over the bridge going from Lambert Airport in St. Louis headed 
home to Springfield.
  If the level keeps decreasing, the river may become too shallow for 
barge traffic to pass between St. Louis, MO,

[[Page S7677]]

and Cairo, IL. The Mississippi River is a critical transportation 
artery for essential commodities, so the financial impact if the river 
shuts down could reach far beyond the Midwest.
  The low water levels are the result of this summer's devastating 
drought that has been continuing to plague many States in the United 
States. It has been the worst drought in more than half a century in 
the Midwest. As of last month, over 60 percent of the United States was 
experiencing drought conditions still. In my State of Illinois, over 90 
percent of the land is still ``abnormally dry'' or worse.
  Economists now predict that the drought will cost the government over 
$12 billion in aid to farmers and ranchers. This is in addition to the 
cost of destruction caused in late October by Hurricane Sandy, the 
largest hurricane to ever form in the Atlantic basin. It is estimated 
that Sandy will cost almost $80 billion in Federal funding for the 
replacement of homes, infrastructure, and buildings.
  Combined, the drought and Sandy will cost the Federal Government tens 
of billions of dollars at a time when we are talking about our debt. It 
is the job of Congress and the administration to help these Americans 
in time of need. Make no mistake about it, we should, we will. But we 
need to be honest about how we plan for disaster spending. According to 
a report by the GAO in September, there have been over 540 disaster 
declarations in the last 8 years requiring over $90 billion in Federal 
aid. It is time we face facts and state the obvious: Weather is getting 
worse. Extreme weather events are happening with increased frequency 
and intensity.
  I held a hearing last year to talk about this issue, to examine 
whether the Federal Government is prepared for this. The answer is no. 
I did not bring in the environmentalists, did not even bring in the 
government employees. I brought in the insurance industry, the people 
who write casualty policies, who are probably more attuned to the 
weather than anybody. They said many more disastrous weather events 
will follow, all of them more expensive.
  The Federal Government needs to rethink how we protect Federal assets 
and provide disaster assistance to communities on a more regular basis. 
Many are saying that 100-year weather events are now happening every 2 
or 3 years. But as we debate climate change and global warming, the 
majority of Americans view the recent extreme weather events as 
evidence the problem is no longer vague or distant. Many have likened 
the effects of climate change to those of steroids in baseball. While 
no one can say that a given home run hit by a player using steroids was 
the result of the drug, you can attribute the overall increase in the 
batting average and the number of home runs a player hits during a 
season to be linked to the use of steroids.
  Similarly, though the cause of a single weather event cannot be 
directly traced to climate change, extreme weather events do serve as a 
wakeup call that an environmental crisis of global proportion is 
occurring.
  I find it incredible how little we talk about this. When I think 
about our responsibility in the Senate and Congress, we are almost 
afraid to bring it up because it is controversial, because some on the 
right are in complete denial that anything is going on here. The rise 
in global temperatures has led to rising sea levels, warmer air and, as 
a result, more extreme weather. It has also led, at the same time--that 
is why some of this sounds so contradictory--to a decline in the size 
of the Great Lakes. Lake Michigan is losing water--you can see it on 
the shoreline--at the same time as we say the oceans are rising.
  The National Climatic Data Center just reported that October was the 
332nd month in a row of above-average global temperatures. That is over 
27 years of warming temperatures. Is that fair warning? I think it is. 
During the last decade, the United States has experienced twice as many 
record high temperatures as record lows, and scientists project that 
record highs will outnumber record lows 20 to 1 by the year 2050.
  In May, NOAA reported that America had just lived through the hottest 
12 months ever recorded. Even before Sandy and the droughts this year, 
the United States was still recovering from extreme weather events of 
last year. In February of last year, Chicago was shut down with 2 feet 
of snow and 60-mile-an-hour winds when a blizzard hammered the city. It 
caused 36 deaths, stranded 1,500 people on Lake Shore Drive, which I go 
back and forth on every day. I still find it hard to imagine: 1,500 
people stuck on Lake Shore Drive. It resulted in $3.9 billion in 
losses.
  April was the wettest April in 116 years in the Midwest, forcing the 
Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to flood thousands of square miles. 
This is 2011 I am talking about.
  There were 326 tornadoes in May throughout the Midwest and Southern 
United States, resulting in the deadliest May since 1933.
  Wildfires burned 3 million acres of property across the Western 
States causing over $1 billion in damages, and Hurricane Irene 
devastated the Atlantic coast, causing $4.3 billion in damages, a very 
small amount compared to Sandy but significant still for those 
affected.
  Nationwide, the financial consequences of weather-related disasters 
and climate change hit a historic new high last year. U.S. disasters 
caused over $55 billion in damages. Federal, State, and local 
governments are paying out more every year in damages and lost 
productivity. So the question is, as a government, what are we going to 
do about this? Is this the new normal?
  The insurance and defense sectors have looked at the scientific data. 
They are changing their operations. They are preparing for worse and 
even bigger losses.
  Insurance commissioners in California, New York, and Washington now 
require companies to disclose how they are working to plot the effects 
of climate change and their responses. Congress may be in denial, but 
the real world, the private sector, is not. As the government is the 
ultimate insurer of millions of Americans in the crop insurance and 
National Flood Insurance Programs, we have to get serious about 
addressing the cause and effects of climate change and the solvency and 
future of these important programs.
  Computer models suggest that the storms and heat waves we are seeing 
will become stronger and more extreme in the future, causing even 
greater damage. Congress can no longer afford to ignore this issue.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. COONS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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