[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18352]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     RESERVOIRS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

  (Mr. HUFFMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, the weather outside is frightful; and if 
you listen to certain conservative media networks, you hear something 
not so delightful. You hear that, because it is snowing, there must not 
be climate change. This is unscientific, it is reductive; but that is 
what climate deniers say this time of year.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, winter happens every year, and the fact that it is 
snowing simply means that it is snowing.
  Instead of looking at December snowflakes, we should be looking at 
the science. Since 1970, not that long ago, winter temperatures have 
increased an average of .55 degrees per decade, reducing snowpacks and 
creating water shortages across the country.
  If you want to look at something immediate, look at California, where 
we are experiencing the driest year on record, and that is why we need 
to start getting serious about our response to climate change.
  We need to adopt new policies and adapt to the changes that are 
happening. And one place to start is how we operate our reservoirs. 
Instead of relying on old-school water manuals that are decades out of 
date, we should be using modern science and modern weather forecasting.
  Our water supply, our food supply and our future will be impacted by 
climate change, so let's lead.

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