[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 86 (Thursday, May 7, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2319-S2320]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     50TH ANNIVERSARY OF EARTH DAY

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, while the Senate was out of session, the 
American people celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. I would 
like to take a moment to acknowledge that historic anniversary.
  We first celebrated Earth Day in 1970 when then-Senator Gaylord 
Nelson brought more than 20 million Americans together to mobilize in 
defense of our planet. In the half-century since, our Nation has 
benefitted from a passionate environmental movement that has pushed 
lawmakers, businesses, and communities to foster a healthier Earth. 
While this movement has yielded significant progress, we nonetheless 
must do more to address the gravest threat to our environment: climate 
change.
  I recognize that, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it might be 
difficult to wrap our heads around a second crisis, but we have an 
important opportunity here to learn from one global emergency about how 
to navigate another.
  The first lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic: We must listen to 
experts. Public health experts have long forecast the risk of a viral 
pandemic. Still, our leaders failed to prepare for COVID-19 and even 
denied the magnitude of the threat we faced when it was at our 
doorstep. The novel coronavirus has now claimed over 72,000 lives in 
the United States, a death toll higher than any other country.
  We are witnessing a parallel problem with climate change. For 
decades, experts have warned that human-caused climate change is 
heating the Earth. Ninety-seven percent of the world's scientists agree 
on this. Scientists are no longer just predicting the future 
implications of this crisis; they are pointing out the very real 
consequences of climate change that have already arrived.
  These include the rise in extreme weather events like floods, 
hurricanes, and wildfires that we have experienced across the United 
States in recent years. In Maryland, we have seen communities like 
Ellicott City devastated by flash flooding from increased rainfall. Our 
State's many miles of low-lying coast make us particularly vulnerable 
to high tide flooding and storm surge. The longer we wait to address 
climate change, the more natural disasters we will face.

[[Page S2320]]

  Nevertheless, many of our Nation's leaders continue to ignore and 
deny the science of climate change. President Trump has nominated 
several individuals to oversee environmental regulations, despite their 
alarming lack of expertise. Federal agencies like the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture have suppressed 
climate science while carrying out crucial environmental research. And 
the Trump administration has advanced a policy agenda that unravels 
critical environmental protections.
  Right now, we need to be doing everything possible to protect our 
planet, not make it more vulnerable.
  Experts tell us that we have a short and critical window for action 
before the climate crisis becomes far more dire. According to the 
United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we have 10 
years to reduce global carbon emissions by 45 percent, or the Earth's 
ecosystems will likely begin to collapse. That will mean even greater 
sea-level rise, more high tide flooding, more devastating hurricanes, 
more and faster-spreading wildfires, and more global infectious 
diseases.
  It is vital that we listen to experts and take steps to curb the 
development of climate change before it is too late.
  The second lesson: We must work with the international community to 
tackle this crisis. Much of President Trump's foreign policy seems to 
rest on the assumption that the United States can become stronger 
through isolation. But the spread of COVID-19 makes it painfully clear 
that we are part of a global community and that there are certain 
threats that we will either overcome together or succumb to together.
  Climate change is one such threat. The United States is the second-
largest emitter of greenhouse gas. Our failure to improve our 
environmental practices will have enormous impact on the rest of the 
world. Likewise, America's long-term security depends on other 
countries' efforts to protect the environment.
  For example, as climate change continues, the number and severity of 
natural disasters in the United States will increase, which will take a 
substantial toll on our economy. A report that I requested from the 
Government Accountability Office shows that the 14 climate disasters in 
2018 cost the U.S. at least $91 billion in damage. And today, taxpayer 
spending on Federal disaster relief in the U.S. is almost ten times 
what it was three decades ago.
  We need help from our friends around the world in order to avoid 
these repercussions of climate change. And if we ask for help, we had 
better be prepared to do our part, too.
  It is, therefore, extremely disappointing that President Trump is 
finalizing the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris 
Agreement, which we joined alongside more than 190 other countries in 
2016. Parties to the agreement committed to lowering carbon emissions 
with investment in clean and renewable energy sources, placing them at 
the forefront of the fight against climate change. Our Nation's retreat 
from this agreement undermines our global credibility and leadership 
and threatens devastating environmental consequences.
  I led the U.S. congressional delegation to the conference where the 
parties originally adopted the Paris Agreement; therefore, I could not 
stand by and watch that important work be undone. So I introduced a 
bipartisan resolution expressing support for the agreement and calling 
on the U.S. to continue working with the global community to address 
the causes and effects of climate change. It will be up to leaders at 
the local, State, and national level to ensure that the United States 
pulls our weight in this worldwide effort.
  The third lesson: Meaningful progress is within reach if Americans 
commit to urgent and bold action. Though it pains me to see the 
suffering that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing, I have been proud to 
watch communities across the country make the adjustments required to 
slow the spread of the virus and keep each other safe. People are 
staying home, teleworking, helping their kids learn remotely, and 
isolating from friends and family. Health workers, first responders, 
and other essential employees are inspiring us with their bravery and 
dedication. And in Congress, we are working in a bipartisan fashion to 
pass major legislation that will help us weather this storm.
  The resilience of the American people in the face of this public 
health emergency gives me faith that we can similarly pull together to 
combat climate change if we recognize it for the life-threatening 
emergency that it is. After all, the World Health Organization predicts 
that climate change will kill an additional 241,000 people per year by 
2030, and the World Bank estimates that, by 2050, it will force more 
than 140 million people out of their homes.
  The good news is that, unlike with COVID-19, the adaptations that 
will help us tackle climate change will also create jobs and stimulate 
our economy. The U.S. clean energy economy employs more than 3.3 
million workers, a number that has been on the rise for the last 5 
years. Furthermore, producing renewable energy is cheaper in the long 
run than continuing to rely on coal. By 2025, almost every existing 
coal plant in the country will cost more to operate than building 
replacement wind and solar plants nearby. And crucially, energy 
efficient infrastructure will strengthen communities by lowering the 
cost of utilities, improving residents' health, and increasing economic 
development.
  For my part, I will keep working as a member of the Senate 
Environment and Public Works Committee to advocate for laws that 
protect Americans by protecting our planet. This Congress, I was able 
to get the first ever climate title included in the surface 
transportation reauthorization bill in order to reduce vehicular 
emissions, the single largest source of U.S. carbon pollution. I have 
also cosponsored bills that will lessen our dependence on fossil fuels 
and increase the development of renewable energy technologies by 
supporting the wind and solar industries.
  As always, I will continue to defend the vital wetlands and marshes 
of the Chesapeake Bay. As climate change causes severe weather patterns 
to increase, these ecosystems will act as pollution filters and buffers 
from storm surge and flooding, minimizing the damage to Marylanders' 
homes and businesses. The Chesapeake Bay restoration program is a model 
for the local, State, and Federal cooperation that we need to reach our 
environmental goals. I am confident that we can address the climate 
crisis as a whole in an equally collaborative manner.
  Now is the time for an ``all hands on deck'' approach. Just as we 
have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans must urgently work 
together, on Earth Day and every day, to slow the causes and 
consequences of climate change. If we do things right, then perhaps on 
the 100th anniversary of Earth Day, someone will be standing here, 
thanking her predecessors for protecting the Earth and looking forward 
to many more golden anniversaries on our beautiful home planet.

                          ____________________