[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7174-S7175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Climate Change

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Thank you to my colleagues Senator Markey and Senator Whitehouse. I 
am pleased to join both of you, who have done such a tremendous job in 
leading on this issue of trying to get everyone to wake up to the 
challenges that we face in climate change and what that is going to 
mean, not just for us in New England but for people across this country 
and across the globe.
  Maybe the reason we feel so passionate about this is because we see 
it. We already see it happening in New England, as my colleagues 
detailed so well. We are on the cutting edge of these changes. You 
don't have to have lived in New Hampshire for very long to have seen 
what is happening as a result of climate change.
  Last week, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released its 
fourth National Climate Assessment, and that details the profound 
effect climate change is having and is going to continue to have on the 
environment, on the economy, and on our public health. The report makes 
it abundantly clear that every American--every American--is affected by 
climate change and that the threat it poses will get worse unless we 
take action.
  As I said, people in my State of New Hampshire have no doubt about 
the reality of climate change because we have been seeing it for years 
now. We have been experiencing it.
  The steady increase in temperatures and the rise in annual 
precipitation are already affecting New Hampshire's tourism and outdoor 
recreation economy. Each year, hundreds of thousands of sportsmen and 
wildlife watchers come to New Hampshire to enjoy our mountains, our 
lakes, and all of our beautiful natural resources. The outdoor 
economy--hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation--contributes more 
than $4 billion to New Hampshire's economy each year, but this is 
threatened now because rising temperatures are shortening our fall 
foliage season, and they are negatively affecting our snow- and ice-
related winter recreation activities. That includes skiing, 
snowboarding, and snowmobiling. The New Hampshire ski industry employs 
17,000 Granite Staters, and the New Hampshire Department of 
Environmental Services warns that these jobs are threatened by climate 
change.
  New Hampshire's--in fact, all of New England's fall foliage is at 
risk. This is climate modeling by the Union of Concerned Scientists 
that shows that by the end of this century, New Hampshire's summers 
will feel like present-day summers in North Carolina, 700 miles to our 
south. While the Presiding Officer certainly understands that this 
works great for North Carolina, it changes dramatically what happens in 
New Hampshire.
  What this shows is that--this red color, which are the maple and 
beech and birch trees--the maple trees in particular that produce our 
maple syrup--that make such a difference in our fall foliage--those are 
going to be gone by 2070--by the end of this century. All of this red 
that we are seeing throughout--from Pennsylvania, New York, across 
Northern New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine--that will all be gone by 
the end of this century.
  Again, this underscores that if we fail to act on climate change, we 
are going to see a steep loss of jobs and revenue. That is going to 
affect our outdoor recreation industry, and it is going to affect our 
traditional maple syrup industry.
  New Hampshire produces more than 100,000 gallons of maple syrup 
annually. That makes it the third largest maple syrup producer in the 
United States. Maple syrup is entirely dependent on weather conditions. 
We are already seeing the impact these changes are having because as we 
get into spring, the temperatures are not getting cold enough at night 
to make the sap run in the maple trees, and during the day, we are not 
seeing the fluctuation in temperatures that allows maple syrup to be 
produced.
  The National Climate Assessment notes that the changing climate is 
putting more and more stress on sugar maples. If we fail to act on 
climate change, this could destroy New Hampshire's multimillion-dollar 
maple syrup industry.
  Now, it is also affecting our wildlife. It is affecting their 
habitats.
  Probably one of the most iconic symbols of New Hampshire is our 
moose. Yet they are being threatened. Because

[[Page S7175]]

of milder winters due to climate change, ticks and other insects aren't 
dying off, which leads to infestation on our wildlife and on our trees. 
According to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the estimated 
moose population in New Hampshire has decreased by more than 50 percent 
since the mid-1990s.
  That story is even worse for moose calves. A recent study by 
researchers at the University of New Hampshire found that winter ticks 
are the primary cause of an unprecedented 70-percent death rate of 
calves over a 3-year period. On average--and we can see this 
dramatically in these photos--47,000 ticks were found on each calf that 
was monitored during this study.
  To quote Dr. Peter Pekins, a professor at UNH who is a lead author on 
the study, ``the iconic moose is rapidly becoming the new poster child 
for climate change in parts of the Northeast.''
  We are going to see moose totally disappearing from the Northeast--in 
fact, from all of the northern part of the United States, if we don't 
take action.
  As my colleagues have said, global warming is also impacting our 
fishing industry. New Hampshire may have a small coast--18 miles of 
coastline--but we have an important commercial fishing industry that 
contributes $106 million to the State and supports 5,000 jobs. 
Unfortunately, because of climate change, the average annual 
temperatures in the waters off of southern New England have increased 
by about 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1970s. This change in 
temperature is driving some of New England's most iconic fisheries 
northward and further out to sea.
  Lobsters, for example, have migrated 40 miles northward to the Gulf 
of Maine in the last decade. As we can see from this illustration, it 
shows the red areas where we used to have lobster until the 1970s. They 
have totally disappeared, and those lobsters have moved north of Cape 
Cod. They are moving into northern Maine and up into Canada. They are 
totally gone from the New England Sound. That is devastating to 
Southern New Hampshire fishing communities where lobster is their 
livelihood.
  Ironically, as I think Senator Markey said so well, the lobster 
migration has contributed to an overabundance in the Gulf of Maine, and 
that has caused price volatility in the lobster market. So we have seen 
dramatic fluctuations which have also affected our fishermen.
  Of course, the impacts on human health have been dramatic because 
people are suffering from the impacts of climate change. Rising 
temperatures increase the number of air pollution action days. They 
increase pollen and mold levels, and they increase allergies. All of 
these things are dangerous to some of our most vulnerable populations, 
including children. In New Hampshire we have one of the highest 
childhood asthma rates in the country because of air pollution that has 
been moving primarily from the Midwest but now is being exacerbated by 
climate change.
  The elderly are affected, as well as those with allergies and those 
with chronic respiratory conditions.
  Rising temperatures also facilitate the spread of insectborne 
illnesses, such as Lyme disease, which have been a huge factor for 
people in New Hampshire and across New England.
  Now, because New Hampshire and the Northeastern States and New 
England have been experiencing major negative impacts from climate 
change, we have been working to reduce carbon emissions to try and 
transition to a more energy-efficient and clean-energy economy. New 
Hampshire is one of nine Northeastern States that participates in the 
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, since the program launched 
in 2009. Massachusetts and Rhode Island are also participants. But 
carbon emissions in RGGI States have fallen by 51 percent. So in less 
than a decade, because of RGGI, we have seen a 51-percent reduction in 
carbon emissions.
  In addition, customers in RGGI States have saved an estimated $773 
million on their energy bills, and billions more are expected. That is 
thanks not just to renewables but to energy efficiency. I am a big 
believer that energy efficiency is also one of the most important ways 
we can reduce our carbon emissions. Also, the wholesale price of energy 
has fallen. So we can see on average 6.4 percent and $773 million in 
energy savings.
  So climate change--as everyone who has spoken about this evening has 
pointed out--is probably the greatest environmental challenge the world 
has ever faced, but we can do something about it if we take action. 
Through smart energy policies and through thoughtful conservation 
measures, we can stop climate change from reaching dangerous, 
irreversible levels, but we have to act now.
  So I urge my colleagues and I urge this administration to recognize 
the economic and environmental imperative of addressing climate change 
before it is too late.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.