[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 172 (Thursday, December 5, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H7510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SAFE CLIMATE CAUCUS

  (Mr. WAXMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WAXMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise as a member of the Safe Climate 
Caucus to call attention to a new report from the Nation's premier 
scientific body, the National Academy of Sciences. We typically 
associate climate change with gradual, longer-term problems, but 
according to the academy, climate change could also pose a risk of 
rapid hard-to-predict environmental changes that have the potential to 
cause widespread damage in the near term.
  The report warns that the collapse of the polar sea ice could send 
sea levels soaring. The destruction of the coral reefs could cause a 
mass extinction of sea life. The elimination of summer sea ice in the 
Arctic could alter the world's weather patterns.
  These ``tipping points'' could happen suddenly. It is reckless to do 
nothing when faced with these threats. If there is a 10 percent chance 
that these threats would happen, it is irresponsible for us to ignore 
it.
  Dr. Richard Alley, one of the coauthors, compared the threat of 
abrupt climate change to the dangers posed by drunk drivers. He said, 
``You can't see it coming, so you can't prepare for it.''
  Congress is acting irresponsibly if we don't take this issue 
seriously. We want to pass on a planet that is worthy of our children's 
and our grandchildren's future.

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